Mostar: An Adventure in Disguise

Everyone tells me that while I am in Dubrovnik I must visit Mostar and Montenegro. We did not have school because of Croatian Independence Day (we were going to stay in Croatia to experience Independence Day, but we found out it is more of a sad holiday and is not celebrated) so we decided to take a day trip to Mostar. I thought Mostar was in Bosnia until a classmate explained to me that Mostar is municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We mostly decided to visit Mostar because we were told there is cheap shopping compared to Dubrovnik and we wanted to see the pretty bridges everyone talks about.

8 A.M. we board the bus to Mostar expecting to arrive back in Dubrovnik later that day....

Once we arrived in Mostar 4.5 hours later we went to the bus information to find out what time the bus home was at. We assumed there were buses back to Dubrovnik all day. We were wrong. The woman at the information booth told us that the only bus back to Dubrovnik today was leaving in 5 minutes. We knew going back wasn't an option, so we walked away to analyze the situation.

Luckily a friend of mine suggested a hostel to stay at in case we were staying the night and the hostel ended up being only a 5 minute walk from the bus station. We turned down a street and found a small sign with the hostel's name on it, Majdas Hostel. We opened the door to find an empty lot. Picture 4 delirious girls walking in what looked like an abandoned house. When we turned the corner we found a colorful garden with a bunch of people sitting at the table. We were so nervous that we were laughing uncontrollably. I saw a woman that looked like the owner and I asked her if she had 4 beds for one night to accommodate the "4 lost girls". Without hesitation she said yes and brought us her mothers homemade iced tea. Hands down one of the best cups of iced tea I've ever had. She brought us out 4 slips of paper and told us to make name tags and then she asked us where our bags were. We had to explain to her that we were not planning on staying the night so we had no clothes or tooth brushes or anything really. She laughed and assured us that it happened for a reason and that we were lucky to stay the night in Mostar. Of course she was right. Her mother was speaking in Croatian and the owner translated to us that her mother was giving us one of the nicest compliments by telling us that we were all such pretty girls and that she could not tell who was prettier. Normally I do not like compliments, but this little old lady was so cute and so nice and her iced tea was just so wonderful. She came over to all of us and gave us kisses and pinched our cheeks. We knew everything was going to be okay. 

There were 2 other travelers hanging out when we arrived so the 5 of us went and got some lunch then explored the city. We went to a local restaurant and tried their signature Ćevapi which was delicious. I have yet to eat a bad meal in Europe and hopefully it stays that way. After lunch we were walking to see the Old Bridge that was built by the Ottomans in the 16th century. On our way to the bridge we passed through the old city and had to remind ourselves that we would do our shopping after we saw the bridge so we continued walking. We heard that people jump of the Old Bridge but we didn't believe it...until we saw a man standing on the top and then we saw him jump and eventually heard him smack the water. The water in Mostar is much different than Dubrovnik. It is a much deeper turquoise, still beautiful, just very different. Walking through the city you can see all the bullet holes in the buildings from the war, but it is still very beautiful. We walked down to a garden below the bridge and while we were standing there in the serene environment we were able to hear the Islamic call to prayer. It was a feeling of peace that you can't really describe.

After about an hour of taking pictures of the bridge from different angles it was time to go shopping! In Mostar they use a different currency called a convertible mark which made me really excited to add to my currency collection. We walked up and down the streets of the old town for hours and explored each little shop. It was the first time during my 3 weeks in Europe I actually went shopping, which is very impressive. After hours of shopping we went back to the hostel to relax. We then gathered a group of travelers and went to dinner at Hindin Han. I'm not exactly sure what I ate, but the plate was clear by the end. While we were sitting and chatting a girl came up and asked if she could sit with us because she was by herself. I've learned how amazing interactions with strangers can be. Traveling truly opens your eyes to the world and made me realize that most people are alike. We are just looking for an experience and we are looking to meet inspiring people.

Before we left to make our 10 A.M. bus back home to Dubrovnik (wearing our same clothes as the day before) the owner of the hostel called our names and had breakfast and hot tea waiting for us. It was a perfect end to our adventure.

Everything truly happens for a reason. It was a blessing in disguise that we were stuck in Mostar for the night. We learned that if you keep a positive attitude the journey, no matter what it may be, will be worth it. Mostar is a city of beauty and disaster. It has a rich history, with an unfortunate present, and a hopeful future.

Back to Reality...

After 4 flights, 2 buses, and 1 train I finally made it back to Dubrovnik! Just in time for classes to start the next day. After having a 5 month summer it was hard to think about finally starting class again...then I remembered I was in Dubrovnik. My entire 14 hour journey home I kept telling myself that my vacation was over and I was going home to reality, but the truth is Dubrovnik is not reality.

Dubrovnik International University is a small private school that flies in its professors from all over the world to teach us students. The professors choose when they will have class based on how long they can stay in Dubrovnik. Before classes started I had an idea of how professional and esteemed our professors would be from just looking at DIU's website. I have never been more impressed by professors and their teaching styles than I have been this past week.

Once we received the schedule for the semester I saw that I have European Union for 5 hours Monday-Saturday. 1. I have never sat in a class for 5 hours. 2. I have never had class on a Saturday. I was definitely a little hesitant about how this was going to play out. I am also taking Organizational Behavior, International Business, and Peace & Negotiations. My Peace & Negotiations class doesn't start until November 17th and it lasts 1 week long and each class is 6 hours long...we will see how that goes.

When I walked into my first class of the semester, European Union, I noticed a couple things. 1. Americans are usually early or on time, while Croatians are usually late. 2. Americans sat in the front of the class, while all the Croatians sat in the back. Our professor began right away. I have a tendency to always ask my professors their background that way I know who I am learning from and to build their credibility. He laughed a little because he felt bad for forgetting to do that in the first place. He begins pronouncing his name which none of us could understand so we all had to Google later. He proceeds by telling us that he used to be a professor at Harvard and has taught all over the world, along with having been in the Croatian Parliament and was an ambassador for Croatia and Montenegro. He also slipped in his introduction that he was a part of the team to help get Croatia to join the EU. No one in the room expected that introduction and you can bet that everyone's mouth dropped by the end.  Yes, Professor Petar Turčinović definitely established credibility with the entire class. That is just a glimpse of one of my professors. My professor for international business, Janice McCormic (she likes us to call her Janice), just retired from 30 years of administrative and academic work at Harvard Business School. While classes are long, it is the first time I have actually enjoyed learning in a classroom setting.

 This is the view outside of my classroom.

At such a small university it is very easy to become friends with each other. The main difference between my study abroad in Dubrovnik compared to Florence is that I am actually able to interact with and get to know locals in my classes. During our breaks and after class we all go to a nearby cafe and hangout for hours. I have also become very close with all of the American's at the university. All of them except for me are on the API study abroad program so they became a tight knit community very fast, but they were more than welcoming for me to join.

Everyday after class my friends and I find a new way to entertain ourselves and just enjoy life. One day we went to a place called Buza, which means hole in the wall. It is actually a hole in the old city wall that leads to cliffs on the Adriatic Sea. Picture yourself walking along a wall and seeing a small arch that looks like it leads to a dark room, but when you walk through it imagine walking into another dimension. You walk through it and it is blue skies, cliffs locals use for cliff diving, a bar, and a lounge area all built into the rocks. After a long day of class we went to Buza to go cliff diving and to watch the sunset. The next day we went to a small set of cliffs that is just up the hill from the old city and we swam to a cave. The water was bright blue and ice cold, but when you have the opportunity to swim to a cave you take it!

The next 3 months of amazing professors, beautiful views, and many adventures in Dubrovnik are going to make it very difficult to return to reality in Gainesville.

España: Barcelona/Madrid/Valencia

I booked a one way ticket to Barcelona by myself with no plan and no expectations. 

Barcelona                                                                                                                          
I booked my one-way flight to Barcelona with no plans. I figured I would find a hostel and walk around by myself, maybe go to the beach…to my surprise I experienced much more. Enric, a friend I met while he was studying abroad at UF last year, invited me to stay with him.  I didn’t realize when he invited me to stay with him meant that he would be my personal guide for the next 2 days. Enric wanted me to have the best experience possible while in his city and he made sure I saw everything. I was able to experience Barcelona from a local’s point-of-view and that is the best way to do

Day 1: As soon as I arrived Enric pulled up Google Maps and explained to me how the city is set up, we then grabbed 2 helmets and hopped on his moped. Our first stop was up a mountain at beautiful overlook of the city. We then drove to Park Güell, which was designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi. After riding around for a couple hours we went back to his apartment and got ready for dinner. I didn’t realize how late everyone does things in Spain. We met up with his cousin for dinner at 9pm and ate delicious food. After dinner he invited a couple friends over to hangout. I'm used to being a foreigner and not understanding the language, but Enric made sure his friends spoke English around me and if they didn't speak English he would translate everything for me. It's funny how being friends with locals can make for such a difference and amazing experience.

Day 2: We woke up and explored the city for hours. I enjoy getting lost, mostly because I believe it's the best way to see a city. We stumbled upon many beautiful buildings and after the day of exploring I decided Barcelona is my favorite city I have visited in Europe. Don't get me wrong I love Dubrovnik, but Dubrovnik isn't real life. I could see myself raising a family and settling down in Barcelona when I'm older. Fingers crossed! While we were walking around this little man walked up to us and asked for directions. To his surprise we were very nice to him and we were actually heading in his direction so we offered for him to walk with us. He was shocked. He didn't think locals and tourists were that nice so I'm glad we were able to prove him wrong. When we asked him where he was from his respond was "South Korea like the man from Gangnam Style" and he even did a little dance move along with it. Before he left us he asked to take a picture with us because we were his first friends in Spain. You never know whose day you're going to make just by simply giving them directions. For my last night in Barcelona we went back to Enric's cousin's house. She invited a bunch of her friends over and we ordered Domino's...yes, they actually eat Domino's pizza in Barcelona.I was the only American who did not speak Spanish or Catalan and there was a guy from Portugal who spoke Spanish, Portuguese, & English, and everyone else in the room spoke Spanish, Catalan, and English. I used to laugh when foreigners would tell me that they can't hear the difference between and Australian and an America, but I don't laugh anymore because I realized I can't tell the difference between Spanish and Catalan. The entire night everyone would switch between English, Spanish, and Catalan and it was definitional as humorous as it sounds. I learned you just have to laugh at the entire situation.

Madrid:                                                                                                                    
At the end of my journey in Barcelona I planned the rest of my holiday. I was fortunate enough that I was able to visit my friend Natalia who is spending this semester in Madrid.

I didn't think I would like Madrid, mostly because I loved Barcelona so much and I really like cities by the sea. Clearly I was wrong.
Day 1: As soon as I arrived Natalia had our day planned out and it mostly consisted of eating amazing food. We went to a local restaurant for the special of the day which was 2 plates of ham and a pitcher of sangria. What a wonderful way to start my adventure in Spain. After our 2 plates of delicious ham we went and got churros which are basically fried dough that you dip in melted chocolate. After all of the dough was gone we ate the chocolate as if it were soup. I was perfectly content with a day dedicated to eating and relaxing.

Day 2: My second day in Madrid consisted of exploring as usual. I've come to the conclusion that I don't like to do touristy things, especially walking tours or museums. Our first stop was to a really cool street market. After a couple hours of shopping we decided to grab burritos and bring them to a local park to eat. Once we got the burritos it took us about an hour to find the spot in the park that Natalia was dying to sit at. I was in Spain, eating Mexican food, sitting in an Egyptian temple. Yes, Spain is a very cultured country. After we finished out delicious burritos and explored the temple we went to visit the Royal Palace. I definitely wouldn't mind living there.

Madrid definitely exceeded my expectations and it was thanks to Natalia and the amazing food!

Valencia:
This is the first city I have ever stayed in a hostel by myself. Valencia might not have been my favorite city, but I still had an incredible time. The first night in the hostel I met a guy named Lubo. He is originally from Czech, but grew up in Florida and Czech. Coincidentally he graduated from UF! He might be the most interesting and inspiring person I've ever met.

 Day 1: The first night we relied on Yelp for a good restaurant and it was a wonderful decision. We ate the best food I think I've eaten in Spain so far (that says a lot because I ate delicious food everywhere in Spain). Compared to Barcelona or Madrid, Valencia is a pretty quite city. We were sitting at dinner talking and telling stories when all of a sudden a man walks up to us and tells us to be quite. After dinner we wondered the streets of Valencia for a while and we met up with a bunch of travelers from our hostel and just sat outside and talked until it was time to go to sleep.
Day 2: Lubo is also one that doesn't like touristy attractions so we decided to rent bikes and ride to these lakes that were just outside of Valencia. On our way to the lakes we drove through a long park that led to the City of Arts and Sciences. We found a huge rope gym where we climbed to the top and hung on the ropes for a little bit until we continued our bike ride. We stopped at a store that reminded me of a Spanish version of Cosco where we picked up some food for a picnic. What we thought was going to be a13 km ride turned into 23km each way. For us American's that equals approximately 30 miles when we count the time we spent lost. When we finally arrived to what we thought would be beautiful lakes turned out to be a bunch rice fields. On our way back we topped at the beach to relax and swim. Swimming turned into taking a siesta on the beach because there were jelly fish everywhere. When we finally got back to Valencia to return the bikes we were able to sign the wall and represent the Gator Nation. After walking around the city a little more and eating Valencia's famous Paella it was time to go to sleep.

My journey through Spain was everything I could’ve hoped for and much more. Spain was never a country that really appealed to me. I ended up traveling Spain because 1. It was the cheapest flight out of Dubrovnik and 2. I wanted to visit my friends. Growing up around Spanish people my entire life I thought I already knew the Spanish culture, clearly I was wrong. I know for a fact I will return!

I Live in Paradise

Growing up in south Florida I thought I knew what paradise was. I've been on several cruises around the Caribbean and I've even been to Hawaii, but I don't think I ever fully experienced Paradise until I arrived in Dubrovnik.

Picture mountains to the east and the Adriatic Sea to the west, with beautiful terracotta roofs all in between.

I am living in a 3 story flat right outside the city in a little town called Lapad. I live in the bottom flat, the owners live in the middle, and the top flat was turned into a hostel.  The picture below is of the steps from my back porch that leads to the harbor. It is perfect, especially for right now when I don't know anyone. I am able to go up to the hostel whenever I want and meet all of the traveling guests. One night there was an entire turnover of the hostel guests and it couldn't have been a more perfect group. There were 3 Canadians, 3 Germans, 2 Scots, 1 Australian, and 1 American. Everyone was either traveling alone or with 1 friend. They proved to me that traveling alone can be amazing.

Living on the east coast my entire life I was never able to enjoy sunsets. Now I am able to watch the sun set every night over the beautiful ocean. I am going to try to take a picture of the sunset every night and hopefully put together a collage at the end of my journey.

At orientation on September 16th they decided to announce that classes don't start until October 1st. I'm not going to lie, I was really excited for classes to start and to meet everyone, but a 2 week holiday means 2 weeks of traveling!

My travel plans are:Dubrovnik>Barcelona>Madrid>Valencia>Marseille

Pre-Departure: A Mixture of Emotions

When I decided to directly enroll into Dubrovnik International University I thought I knew what I was signing up for. I was wrong. I am leaving in one week and I have no idea what I am getting myself into.

It is difficult for me to describe how I am feeling at this point. Everyone keeps asking me if I am “SO EXCITED?!” and the truth is that I am very nervous. I am traveling to a country without knowing a single person. I’ve heard many times that everyone should travel alone at least once, so here I go!

What I do know is that I arrive in Dubrovnik on September 15th and my classes start September 16th. Which classes am I taking? Good question. The relaxed Croatians like to choose their classes the first day of school. It will be quite a change to go from a huge public university like UF to a small private university like DIU, which has less than 200 students.

I anticipate this experience to be challenging, but that’s what makes it exciting. In order to keep life interesting we all must take risks, enjoy life, and go with the flow.

Putting my nerves aside, I am very anxious to begin my journey. I cannot wait to breathe the fresh ocean air as I walk along the Adriatic Sea on my way to class every morning. I am very excited to take classes that actually interest me and I am even more excited to take these classes with students from all over the world. I can’t wait to get to know a different part of the world and the magnificent people that fill it!

The Adventures Never End

I started to blog to document my study abroad experience, but I've decided to keep the blog updated with all of my adventures abroad. Italy was just the beginning...much more to come! Once you've got wanderlust in your blood, you've got it for life.

Buda or Pest?

Before we left for Budapest I was told that the city was split in half with Buda on one side of the River and Pest on the other side. The entire time I thought it was a joke...it wasn't.

Day 1:
Our flight was out of the Pisa airport so we decided to go to Pisa a couple hours early in order to see the leaning tower. When we arrived in Pisa we took a city bus to the tower. We spent about an hour trying to get a good picture, it was somewhat successful. We wanted to have a nice dinner by the tower, but we realized we spent too much time taking pictures and had to get back to the airport. I am ashamed to admit that we ate McDonald's for dinner. After our wonderful Italian dinner.... we waited at the bus stop for about 10 minutes. A bus came and we all got on it. Good thing one of my friends asked the bus driver if he was headed to the airport and he shoot his finger in front of him saying "no aeroporto". We all jumped off before we got on the wrong bus. We looked at the bus schedule and found out that the bus we needed stopped running. Picture 9 American students with huge carry on bags running through the streets of Pisa trying to catch a plane. We looked ridiculous and got plenty of funny looks. After running about 4 miles we finally made it to the airport. Of course we looked like we just ran a marathon and had sweat dripping down our faces, but that didn't stop Nicole from getting our flight attendants number.

I was told that Ryan Air was one of the worst companies in Europe, but we had a wonderful experience. We paid 70 euro for round trip tickets, which included the extra 5 euro we paid for priority seating (best investment I've made in Europe). They weren't very organized and basically everyone just stands in a jumbled mess fighting to board the plane. They do not have section numbers or assigned seating. They kind of just say "okay, everyone line up to board", you can imagine the mess that makes. We were able to board the plane first and pick any seat we wanted. They opened the door and I expected to walk through a tunnel to the plane...nope we literally walked on the runway right to where the plane was parked and walked up the stairs right onto the plane. Ryan Air was very entertaining... they speak in 3 different languages so everything they say they repeat 3 times, which meant they were talking for the entire flight. They also has many opportunities to shop on board. The sold smokeless cigarettes, perfume, and scratch off cards. We found it quite funny. Before we knew it we were walking off the plane and were in Hungary, a place I never pictured myself visiting on my last free weekend in Europe.

 

We stayed at a hostel named Tiger Tim's. On the website it mentioned that there are no signs advertising that the hostel actually exists so it has a picture of the entrance and it tells you to remember what this door looks like, because that is the only way you will know you are at the right place. It was 1:30am and the shuttle pulled up to the street, let us out, and left. The 9 of us were searching for this mysterious door. One of the boys knocks on a door that he believes is the correct place. This door was located between a kebab store and a sex shop....we were a little nervous to say the least. The door opens and we start walking up a stairs, having no idea what or who we might run into. After 4 flights of stairs a very skinny Australian man greets us in his underwear with a notebook in his hand. We weren't sure if we should be scared or entertained. He started calling out our names and led us to our rooms. The owner of the hostel, Tim a funny Irish man, introduced himself and told us to all meet in the lounge area in the morning and he would go over everything with us. 

Day 2: 

When we woke up we all met upstairs and Tim handed us each a map of Budapest. He told us everything we needed to know about the city from good restaurants to the famous Turkish baths. Budapest is a walking city, even if it's 30 minutes away, you walk. 

We began our adventure exploring the city. We went to the 3 story central market. It had a lot of fruits, vegetables, and meats.. not the market we expected, but it was still cool to explore. We then went to the green bridge and just sat in the sun for a little bit. There wasn't a cloud in the sky! After relaxing we walked on the Pest side along the Danube River and we ran into the shoe memorial. It is 60 pairs of shoes made out of iron that give remembrance to the Jews who were shot into the Danube River by fascist Arrow Cross militiamen in Budapest in World War II. 

 

We followed one of Tim's suggestions and went on one of the free walking tours. As you've already read I do not enjoy tours very much, but this was an exception. The guides were young and energetic. The brought us to both sides of the river showing us famous places in Buda and Pest. They brought us to a statue of a fat police man and told us if you rub his belly you will eat good food while you are in Hungary. We also saw more locks on an iron gate. Our guide told us that couples who are in love come here, write their initials on the lock, lock it on the fence, and throw the keys into the river. Europe really likes this lock tradition. They have it in Florence and Cinque Terre. We ended the tour on Castle Hill on the Buda side. The view was of the entire city and was beautiful.  

We finished our day of sightseeing at the popular Hummus Bar. I guess rubbing the statues tummy worked because our that was the best falafel I've ever had. The made the falafel balls fresh to order. After dinner we had to get ready for our night around Budapest. Tim has organized things each night of the week for anyone in the hostel to participate in if they wish. Saturday night was a cruise along the Danube River that ended on Dream Island, which is an Island known for night life. It was a good time and we met a lot of really cool people. The view of the river at night was awesome.

Day 3:

Our third morning was when I realized how cool staying in a hostel is. We were upstairs sitting at a table full of about 15 people and when you listened around the table you heard accents from England, Australia, Norway, and Ireland. I'm not sure the next time I will be around such a diverse group of people. 

We walked to a local market one of our tour guides told us about. It had about 15 vendors and would take a regular group of people 30 minutes to go through, but it took us group of 6 girls about 2 hours. Everything was so cool and unique. 

After shopping we visited a museum called the House of Terror. The museum contains exhibits related to the fascist and communist dictatorial government in 20th century Hungary. It also a memorial to the victims of the regime. The entire museum is in Hungarian so we had to read the English papers that explained every room. Tim warned us that the museum was very shocking, but we didn't get that feeling until we went to the basement. This is where the memorial is and prison cells that make you feel like you were actually there. It sent shivers down my spine. 

After the House of Terror we were ready for a relaxing couple of hours at the Szechenyi Baths. This Turkish bath was the first of its kind on the Pest side and is the largest medicinal bath in Europe. It has over 15 baths ranging from ice cold to steaming hot. We laid by a pool that had a whirl pool in the middle. It turned on every 10 minutes and once you are in it, it is very hard to get out. The water pushes you in circles, bumping you into the people around you...sounds weird, but it was so much fun!

After the baths we went with the Hostel the the World's 3rd most famous bar, Szimpla. This bar is considered a ruin bar, but it blows all other bars out of the water. You can spend hours exploring the bar. It is full of computer screens and strange junkyard artifacts.

When I booked my flight to Budapest I had no idea what to expect. I couldn't be happier with our decision to travel there. It was a place I'll probably never have the chance to go to again. It was the cleanest city I have been to and not very touristy, which was nice. We ate good food, had a fun time, saw awesome places, and met cool people.