They Don't Use the Black Bars

                I have been to Europe once before when I was eleven. One thing I remember is going to a public pool in Germany. Woman swam topless, all the men were in Speedos, and the locker room was unisex. It was the weirdest concept for me and I could not comprehend why the sexes were not separated. Granted I was only eleven at the time, but I was, at the age, self conscience of body image. I had a member of my family hold up a towel for me while I changed out of my swimsuit into my clothes. This probably gained more attention from third parties than my just stripping down without all the worry of “peekers.”

                I have been in Europe now for over three months now and I must say it is definitely starting to faze me anymore. I’m not going to go so far as to say that I’m exactly comfortable with it, but at least I don’t gape in surprise anymore at the openness of nudity for Europeans (generally speaking of course).

I believe I stated in a previous blog post about how my Swiss friend’s softball team would just change on the field—boys and girls, from shirts to cups.

                Since I have been traveling around, as a “backpacker with a limited budget” I stay at the cheapest possible accommodations I can find: hostels. Hostels were a very foreign idea for me. I knew they were cheap places to stay at that were more like dorms than private hotel rooms, but as an American, I had no clue what I was getting myself into. The first time I stayed at a hostel was in Edinburgh Scotland. The room consisted of about 16 bunk beds in a huge cold room with one little heater that was covered by someone trying to dry their towel. I got one flat pillow, a fitted cover, one sheet, and a duvet (comforter) that smelled pretty weird. The room is occupied by both sexes and generally between the ages 18-35, but I have seen older single men in hostels before as well, which I find rather creepy and weird. At this hostel the bathrooms were separated by gender, but they were rather gross and the plumping was rather questionable and the toilets didn’t like to always flush for you. Showers were awkward as they consisted of two shower curtains for doors more than often. I haven’t discovered the art of keeping both the previous clothes I was wearing the clothes I plan to change into without getting them damp. Plus you have to carry your towel, shampoo, conditioner, soap, etc. It’s a bit of a challenge if I do say so myself. In another hostel I stayed at, the toilet/shower room was unisex. The first thing I noticed in the bathroom was a rather large painting of a naked woman on the wall, bush included. Anyways, so I’ve seen all sorts of various men and woman of different nationalities in their underwear. We just change. In front of people. In the room, in the bathroom. Where ever, it doesn’t matter. It’s part of European culture.

                Another note on the openness of the body image was when I picked up a free weekly newspaper at the metro stop about a month or so ago. Here I am flipping through the pages of the newspaper and BAM! Naked woman. In a public newspaper! I’ve even noticed they don’t really bleep out bad words on the radio either. For example, the song is originally “Sexy Bitch” but I knew it as the radio version/title “Sexy Chick.” Well here, the original version is also the radio version. No edits. Even the day time radio hosts I’ve heard use bad words. Nothing really bad, but it definitely isn’t as offensive here as it is in the states. And today, for example, for one of my classes we were looking at magazine adverts for semiotics analysis and there is a cologne ad with a man and woman on the beach naked, obviously about to make love. Well, sounds pretty typical for a fragrance ad right? Well normally, hair and normal body parts always conveniently cover the naughty bits in the states. But here, well let’s just say I could see her nipple and his crack.

                So what is the point of this post you might be asking? Well, I just want to point out how prudish the American culture is. We’re always complaining and suing about how this and that is always offending us. Blah, blah, blah. “Drinking is bad for you! The legal age is 21!” Well, here it’s 18 and it’s totally typical for people to go out and drink normally. We discuss drinking all the time in my classes, it’s completely a part of life. Even during my first week of university, the school sponsored drinking events and encouraged students to attend every night. “Smoking is bad for you! It gives you cancer and it’s so gross!” Well, here a LOT of people smoke. Sure the packs say that smoking can kill you or give you lung cancer, but it’s totally normal for the majority of the population to be smokers. You just get use to it. “Don’t use bad language or inappropriate content during day time hours on radio and television! Etc.” Well, here they do not really seem to care about how much sex references there are or if a bad word was used before 9PM. It’s part of life. So why NOT have it on there? I think the more the Americans nag about how all these things are offensive and they should not expose to daytime audiences to such material because it tarnishes the “innocent,” the more rebellious the population will continue to be.

Expanding my vocab

Well, as I stated before I am living with two Australian girls. So, needless to say, I am learning some new sayings/words. I thought I would share them all with you. I will continually add as I hear more. Also, the vocab I am learning from the British or Europeans.

**Note: if you ever meet an Australian, ask them to say squirrel. They say it funny! They actually pronounce the i, where as we don't.

Australian

Mozzies = mosquitoes

Bogan = redneck, hillbilly, wigga, trailer trash, etc.

Stop grizzling = stop complaining

Going off like a bucket of prawns in the sun = going really well

Giving me the shits = annoying me

Full as a fat girl’s sock = stuffed full

Devo = devastated

Servo = service (gas) station

Dero = derelict, which also means abandoned

Bangers and mash = sausage and mashed potato

Heaps = loads

Bits = Like I love you to bits. They say bits a lot.  

Bathers or togs or cosi = swimsuit

Quilt = comforter

Biccie = bisquit

Sheila = woman

Bloke = man

Blugder = lazy person

Bodgy/Dodgy/Shonky = bad

Dunny or brick shit house = toilet

You’re built like a brick shit house = really strong

Bored shitless = really really bored

Brekkie = breakfast

Sparkie = electrician

Chook = chicken

Cutting their lunch = stealing someone’s girlfriend/boyfriend

Stubbie = beer bottle

Mad as a cut snake = angry

Spat the dummy = hissy fit

Dag = weirdo

Dead set = true

You got tickets on yourself = you’re conceited

You little bugger = you little shit

Dill = idiot

To dob on someone = tattle tale

Doovalacky = thingamajiggy

Stunned mullet = senseless fish

Durry = cigarette

On your bike = get lost

Dole bludger = person who lives off welfare

Did you see her Tasmania = …..well Tasmania devils live down south….

Earbashing = talkative

Fuck me dead = oh my gosh!

Flat out like a lizard drinking = really busy

Feral = hick

Gobsmacked = surprised

See you round like a rissole = see you later

Give it a burl = give it a go

Buggered = tired

Got a few kangaroos lose in the top paddock = you’re crazy

Larrikin = prankster

Shit a brick = wow!

Happy as larry = very happy

To have a lend of someone = taking advantage of someone’s gullibility

Mongrel = despicable person

Piece of piss = easy

Shit for brains = stupid

Pigs arse! = yah right

Let fluffy off the chain = farted

Pommie = English person

Porky = lie

Possie = position

On the piss = drinking

Every man and his dog = everyone

He is blotto = completely wasted

Rat bag = terror

Give us a gander = give me a look

On her rags = on her period

Ridgy-Didge = genuine

Drongo = idiot

She’ll be right mate! = she okay

Slow coach = slow poke

Rock up = to arrive

Sanger = sandwich

Shark biscuit = a new surfer

Hit the turps = go drinking

Dog’s breakfast = a mess

Two bob short of a pound = slow stupid

You’ve got a wog = sick

Yakka = work

He hasn’t got a brass razoo/hasn’t got two sticks to rub together = he’s dirt poor

Zed = Z

His bloods worth bottling = he’s really good

Bush bash = country (offroad) driving

Budgie smugglers = speedos ßBAHAHAHA

You’ve got buckleys = no chance

To have a blue = fight

Mean as cats piss = nasty!

Aggro = aggravated

Big smoke = the city

Billabong = water hole

Bottle = liquor store

Bust = broke

Full as a boot = really drunk

Get stuffed = go away

Grose = very good

Go for broke = risk everything

Hard yacka = hard worker

Go ass up = messed up real bad

Hooroo = good bye

Jumbuck = sheep

Larrikin = mischievous guy

Oldies = parents

A polly = politician

Rack off = go away

You little ripper/ you little beauty = great, terrific

She’ll be apples = all is well

Strine = British Australian

Ta = thank you

Having a yarn = reading a story

Ankle biter = child

British

Going out on the lash = out drinking

Slammer = jail

Chav or chaver = uneducated, babies really young, etc.

Well fit = very attractive

Naff = bad

Canny = mixture of very and good/pretty

Bent = gay

Necking = kissing

Brown sauce = barbeque

Shag = sex

Fringe = bangs (like hair bangs)

Mince = ground beef

Quid = like bucks, slang for pounds (British currency)

Snogging = kissing

Fag = cig

European/Australian

Mobile = cell

The Start of Something New

After spending a month with my old friend Isabella and her mom and brother in Basel Switzerland, I embarked upon a new culture: England. I left Basel by train by myself (!) September 17^th as Isabella and her mom, Barbara saw me off. It was the coolest thing ever, sitting on the train all stressed out , and Isa automatically made me feel happy when she started running beside the train so I could smile, laugh, and wave goodbye to her for a bit longer. Awe, I miss my Swiss family! Switzerland was a good time, I enjoyed it very much. I got to Zurich about 2 ½ hours before my flight left, but had a lot of complications because I had no idea which gate my flight was leaving from—my ticket was blank on that spot. Waiting, watching the board, waiting, watching the board, finally its 45 min til my flight is supposed to leave and I’m freaking out. So I finally go ask someone at the information desk, found after much wandering with all my heavy luggage, but it got all figured out and it was fine. Then, after arriving in London-Heathrow so I could catch a connecting flight to Newcastle, I decided I hate this airport and it’s much too complicated. Luckily, I was in the same terminal for my connecting flight but if you ever need to change terminals you have to allow a few hours layover. Also, some connecting flights leave from a different London airport all together; thank goodness I didn’t have to deal with that! While at Heathrow, I had to go through security two times! Even though I’d already been through it in Zurich! Plus, they took my picture. Plus, I was asked so many times to show my boarding pass and my passport and I had my things manually checked ANOTHER two times! Apparently I look like a terrorist?

So I arrive in the small Newcastle airport and am greeted by two girls from my university. They send me over to a desk where other exchange students arriving that day are also waiting. Then, in groups or 3-4 people, they send us to our accommodations at the University of Sunderland. I went in a cab with two Germans. We chatted a bit, but really my mind was focused on not getting sick. I was all sweaty from the stress and nerves and I was also riding backwards in the taxi van…..AND they drive on the wrong side of the road! When I got to Clanny House, my uni accommodations for three months, we all went to the receptionist desk to check in and get our key. Well, I had to que (British English for waiting in line) for a really long time and then finally it was my turn. Well, my Swiss family didn’t have a working printer so I didn’t have my accommodations contract printed off so I just wrote all the info down and figured that showing my passport would work fine. Apparently not! So they made me wait for another hour and a half before they finally allowed me in their office to pull my contract up from my email and print it. Then, they didn’t even keep the thing! I was so mad! But it all worked out okay. A nice young man whose job is like a resident assistant, helped me carry my things to my flat (British English for apartment). And thus began my new lifestyle in England.

When I first arrived, I went into the kitchen. There I met two of my flatmates: Christina and Birthe, both girls who go to the same university in Germany. They were so nice! When they found out I was an American, they were super excited! Apparently they hate British accents and in school, they learn British English. They loved my accent and loved American words! So I have promised them to teach them the American ways. They’re so cute, I was shocked, but it just makes me laugh. And from there I met my other flatmates. There is Justin from Vancouver, Canada. Helen from Kentucky, U.S.A. Jasmin and Emma from Adelaide, Australia. One guy and 6 girls. We get along great; I really love my flatmates—couldn’t have asked for better ones!

Now, I must describe my flat. There are a total of four floors. The first floor includes my room and the kitchen/lounge. The kitchen includes four chairs with a coffee table, and then a kitchen with a bar and three stools. There are two fridges, except they’re rather narrow and more than half of each is freezer space. It included an old school toaster and a microwave. The oven is really small and is actually divided in two: half grill and half oven. The four stove tops take forever to heat up. We all like to hang out here pretty much every evening.  My room includes a single bed, two separate windows, a desk with a chair, a four drawer dresser, 3 book shelves on the walls, a wardrobe, and a sink. The sink is weird because the there are two separate fossets for warm and cold. There is also a heater that will only turn on for two hours tops before turning off. Each time I turn it on, it makes all these old heater sounds and clicks and then goes BANG after a few minutes! Like Uncle Bucks’ car in the movie. I still haven’t gotten use to it and I jump every time.  The second floor includes the Jasmin and Helen’s rooms, a toilet room with a teeny tiny sink, and another room with a shower, sink and a closet with cleaning utilities like the mop, broom and vacuum. The third floor is Emma’s room and the German girls’ room (they share) along with another toilet room. The fourth floor is Justin’s room, a shower room, a toilet room, and another empty bedroom. We are supposed to have another flatmate, but he/she STILL hasn’t arrived!

The University of Sunderland is made up of two different campuses. There is St. Peters on the river and the City Campus. Clanny House is like a 20-25 min. walk from the City Campus and 40-45 to St. Peters. There is a free shuttle bus that runs between all the accommodations and campuses, but it only sits 17 so sometimes you may que for a long time. Of course, all my classes are at St. Peters so I usually take the metro if the bus is full and I’m running behind. Basically, I always leave an hour before my class actually starts. The University is very “green.” Everyone recycles. Recycle bins are everywhere! And there are signs to do so in all of our flats too.

This semester I am taking three classes: Principles of Marketing, Introduction to Media and Culture and the Animated Film. Their university system is much different than back home. Here, three classes is the norm for loaded classes. It equals 15 credit hours to my home university (12 is full time at Wichita State). Marketing is the only class that actually has to do with my major, the other two are just for fun. Surprisingly, Marketing is my favorite class! I love my lecturer! And yes, they don’t call them professors, but lecturers. Each class (they call them modules here), has a lecture, just like your typical university class in the states. Everyone must attend this lecture. Then, we are separated into workshop/lab/seminar groups, which are a more intimate classroom setting and often led by someone different than who led the lecture. Because of this difference in the education system, I still have to have a class schedule on me at all times to make sure I am going to the right classes. On Mondays is my culture lecture for an hour, followed by a culture seminar led by a different lecturer. The seminars are basically splitting us up into groups of no more than 25 to go over and discuss what was learned in the lecture. It involves a lot of classroom participating and public speaking on the student’s part. Mondays I also have my one hour lecture for Marketing. Tuesdays I have my workshop for Marketing for two hours; I took the workshop led by the same lecturer who does our lecture classes because he’s just so awesome. On Tuesday evenings, I have a three hour screen section in the media center cinema for my Animated Film class. Wednesdays is my one hour lecture and one hour seminar for the media part of my Intro to Media and Culture class. Again, led by different people. I also have a two hour workshop for my Animated Film class where we discuss the makings of the animated film and the hidden meanings behind them. Thursday and Fridays, since I am one lucky son-of-a-gun, I have free! So, even though I’m only taking three classes, I’m actually all over campus for a good part of the day Monday through Wednesdays.

I haven’t really explored much of Sunderland yet. I have absolutely no sense of direction and I’m just happy I know how to get around as much as I do! There’s a big shopping area nearby the main campus, so if I ever need anything, that’s where I go! I’ve been to the beach, since Sunderland is right on the coast, but that’s about it so far for the local things. I plan to eventually attend a soccer (football!) game as well, since Sunderland does have a team. So far I really like Sunderland though, but as my flatmate described it, “it’s mordor” when you compare it to other places I’ve seen in the UK. LOL

German flatmates Christina and Birthe before going out

Helen, Emma, and Jas hanging out at the Sunderland beach....before they got wet!

The waves were crazy wild!

Jasmin, Helen, Emma and Justin. Hanging out a pub in Edinburgh

The three W’s: Weather, Words and what you Wear

                 I supposed the first thing I should mention about my new life in England is the weather, the usual thing that first comes to mind when discussing the UK. And yes, it’s true. The weather is bloody awful but it’s not as bad as I imagined. Now Sunderland is in the north east of England, just a bit south of the boarder of Scotland. It’s right on the coast; I see seagulls all the time.  But the sun….well, what sun? I can’t see it. It’s basically always cloudy here. Of course, I am here during the fall season so I can’t speak for the rest of the year, but so far the sun has only come out to play a few times now. Yes, it does rain a lot, but it’s more like a on and off sprinkle. That, I can handle. With the sun trying to get through the wall of clouds at times, it can be warm in the sun. But it’s chilly in the shade. Basically, you must always carry an umbrella, jacket, and sunglasses on you at all times. A bit of a pain if you ask me. On a sad note though, it’s really cold at night. The first night I was here I turned on the heater!

                Another thing is the accents. I generally understand everyone except when they speak really fast or use their slang. For example, I hear people refer to chavs. I had no idea what they were so I asked. Apparently they are a working class youth that is associated with aggression, poor education and have “common” taste in clothing and lifestyle. And, depending on where you’re from, you’ll say it as charver. So these chavs are kind of like the bunt of every joke really. British also call pants as trousers, sweaters are jumpers, cells are mobiles, fries are chips, chips are crisps, duvets are comforters, and the list goes on. You will also hear them say cheers a lot. It can mean what we know as cheers when drinking, but commonly used as a way of saying thank you or good bye. My favorite encounter so far was when I held the door open for this decent looking British bloke and he said, “cheers, love” I about died!! Loved it! The British also spell things differently, but it’s quite close to the American spelling so it’s not hard to figure out. There’s colour, flavour, neighbour, favourite, centre (center), tyre (tire), fayre (fair), and so forth. Europeans learn British English, not American English so they also learn these spellings and use of words, but they do know American slang from our Hollywood movies.

                I hate to touch clothing style since I don’t really have much of one back home anyways but I will say a bit about it. Europeans, for one, do NOT wear sweats out in public like Americans do. They always look nice. Even if it’s for a short walk to the gas station to get a can of soda, they will look nice doing it. The main fad I’ve really seen is girls wearing skinny jeans or leggings/tights with boots, flats, converse or sandals (NOT flip flops!). They also don’t wear t-shirts or tennis shoes. Everything is generally fitted. Here I’ve seen locals wearing belly showing shirts, which is absolutely ridiculous considering how cold I think it is, but I’ve also heard that people outside the area makes fun of these people so I’m glad to hear it’s not a normal thing in the UK. I can’t really say much for guys. I can’t really tell the difference except for no sweats as I’ve said before. Less casualness about them, they’re more retro I think. But really, as usual, guys can get away with whatever really without standing out too much.

A few pictures from Switzerland

Vineyard in Basel. Vineyards could be seen everywhere on the hills in Switzerland

Touching the tip of the Matterhorn mountain peak

Kissing the Swiss cow in Zermatt

The first bridge to cross the Rhine River. Taken in Basel.

The WTO center is in Geneva

Standing in front of the Jet d'Eau in Geneva

I sprout water!

In front of the monument that represents where three countries meet: Germany, France and Switzerland

America: a protective bubble that keeps us ignorant and naïve of the rest of the world

So I am currently in Sunderland England right now and have already started school, but since I’m a little behind on my blog I’m going to say some more about things I learned in Switzerland and then I’ll update later about my first few days in England later. FYI, the following information isn’t organized very well, just random information.

As I said many times, Switzerland is really expensive. Let me emphasize that one more time to make sure you understood me: Switzerland is really expensive.

Okay, now that you know that Switzerland is really expensive, I may continue. One thing I found really different was how the trash service worked. Now, we pay the trash service once a month and they usually come by once a week to take out all of our trash. In Switzerland, you pay PER bag. You fill a standard sized trash bag, put a label on it, and are charged per bag. Obviously, that will add up to a lot of money if you are not wary of the amount of waste you go through. They also stress recycling, which will also help save you in taking out the trash (aka spend more money). When wanting to get rid of big things, someone comes by two times a year to retrieve such trash….or maybe it was metal? Anyways, my point is that you have to be extremely careful with the amount of trash you go through and you can’t just get rid of things. So, being a country girl, I had asked my Swiss mom “Well, why can’t you just have a community trash burning tin if it costs so much?” Well, apparently Switzerland is also regulating the amounts of carbon dioxide that is released into the air. Burning your trash is against the law because Switzerland is so environmentally friendly. Interesting huh? Now, I’m so aware of how easily I fill up my trash can and I feel so terrible about it. I waste so easily and do not think anything of it. I know Americans are pushing for recycling and that is something we do at my parent’s house, but still. We fill up the trashcan pretty fast regardless. Another thing to mention, they do not have garbage disposals in their sinks, so they cannot cheat the system that way either.

There’s also regular (annually, biannually, etc.) checkups on cars and chimneys so make sure they are also not excess emissions of carbon dioxide in those. None of those big pickup gas eaters will be found in Switzerland. All cars are as small and compact as possible, depending on the need per family. Even if the family does have a car, it probably is not used daily. Bikes, walking, or public transportation (tram, bus, train or even taxi) is the most efficient way to travel.

Bathrooms. If you are ever in Switzerland and are in the search for one, it can be found by looking for the two letters WC. And from there, they are of course labeled by the usual gender separation by the male and female pictures.

Back home in the states, we call it “military time.” But in Europe, time is usually always listed on the 24 hour scale. There is no PM, it is 13:00. You will notice this most especially on public transportation time listings. Sadly, I have to admit that even being a military brat, I still have to subtract any time existing in the PM by 12 so I know what time it is.

A few times I would wake up early in the morning or had time to myself while Isa was in a sport practice, so I would take a walk around the neighborhood. Usually only walks that involved as few turns as possible, because we all know how directionally challenged I am. My favorite part was going to this forest hill next to the flower field and listen to the clanking sounds of the bells tied up around the necks of goats. I couldn’t ever see them, just hear. But I loved it! It always made me think of Heidi! Anyhow, back to my point, on my walks I would be by myself and often see other individual walkers on my path. As part of the culture I was brought up in, usually such circumstances would incline me to say hello or smile and nod at such said stranger. I would do so and they would simply: 1)ignore me and continue to stare straight ahead and continue on their way 2)give an awkward hello that came out like pulling teeth 3)the stranger would give me a puzzled look followed by an expression that screamed, “who the hell is this person?!” I learned fast it was not part of the culture to do such things. It’s hard to fight the natural impulse, but I really didn’t want something ELSE to label me as an obvious foreigner.

Fast food, if you think about it, can easily be a symbol of the US whether Americans like it or not. It represents how we are always on the go and are always in need of shortcuts. Also, we eat it a lot. In other words though, we enjoy our conveniences and anything that makes life easier. This is also represented on items such as….well let’s say the bagel cutters contraptions. Instead of simple taking a knife doing it by our own hands, we made up an invention where you place a bagel in a box thing and push down the handle to cut the bagel in two perfect halves. OR the bagel already came precut! We simply never do things ourselves from scratch; we have all these ways to make processes faster and easier on us. But back to fast food, Swiss people do not normally go out for meals. It costs too much! Not only that, if you forgot an ingredient for your casserole you were making at 9 at night, too bad so sad! The stores will already be closed! They are no Wal Mart stores conveniently open 24/7 for such needs.

Now, Switzerland is absolutely gorgeous! It really, really is. But, in my opinion, if you ever want to go with the whole family (spouse and kids), I recommend not. Well, unless you have a ton of money to waste, then go ahead. Switzerland is notorious for their very good public transportation system. You go anywhere quite easily, which is very appealing for tourists. What’s the catch? It also cost a lot. We were in Basel which is at the very top north of Switzerland where France and Germany meet and traveling down to Zermatt along the south boarder near Italy. For one person, a round trip was 218 CHF (Swiss francs). Well, I don’t remember the price, but I just looked it up online and that was what it was listed at. Thanks goodness Switzerland is small otherwise a tourist would be broke after trying to see all of this beautiful country! If you DO ever visit the lovely Swiss land, I encourage you get a foreigner’s flexi pass. There are many options but I choose the 3 day one. This allows me to pick any 3 days in a month’s period to travel anywhere on public transportation without paying extra. All the other days, I would only pay ½ fares. Downside was I always had to carry the pass and my passport around in order to get these deals, otherwise I would get a hefty fee from the controller. The pass cost me about 250 CHF if I remember correctly, and saved me a lot in the long running!

                Europeans are also much more open about changing in public. I remember when my family visited Europe in 2001, we went to a public pool in Germany. The changing room was not separated by genders. Despite being only 11 at the time, I still insisted on privacy and my sister hold up a towel while I changed to block me from others’ view while I changed. This, more then anything, drew everyone’s attention at my odd behavior. Isa’s softball team would also just change from their day clothing to practice outfit right there on the field. The men’s baseball team too. Cups and all Isa told me. It’s just part of the European culture to be more open about such things.

                On that note, I would like to add that the one thing I really WILL NOT miss from being in that part of Europe is greeting/saying farewell to people by the kisses on the cheeks. Depending on where you’re from, its either 2 or 3 kisses. In Switzerland, it was 3. It was so unnatural for me and felt weird to be kissing people I just met on the cheeks not once, but THREE times!

The Value of Money

              Americans are always saving their money so they can get a newer car, often some kind of bigger gas-eating monster, or to buy a bigger house or add onto the current one. Perhaps, you save to go back to school or pay for your kid’s college. In Switzerland, you usually own zero or one small car per family so you don’t need to save money for another. Land is extremely expensive so you don’t save to buy a bigger house. As for paying for the university, if you’re smart enough to get in and stay in for the full time (lot more prestigious than the American universities), you only pay for books. Taxes pay for everyone’s tuition and university fees, but only if you attend in your own canton’s. So what do the Swiss save their money for?? One word: vacation.

                Vacation is very important. It’s unlikely to find a European who has only been in their own country. It’s not like the states where it’s unsurprising if someone doesn’t have a passport, let alone visited more than 10 states in their lifetime. Here, you save money to go on vacation. Whether it Greece, Turkey, Egypt, islands in the Mediterranean Sea, etc. Somewhere the sun shines bright, the landscape is beautiful, you can relax on the beach, and the young people can party. Well, my friend Isabella and her mom had a rough year and were in much need of a vacation. Isabella’s brother has already started high school so he was unable to go. We went to several travel agencies for these deals called “last minute.” It’s really neat. What it is is a vacation package that you can get at the last minute (like a few days or a week before you leave) for you to go to a beach resort for a week or two for a low price. If you get it farther in advance, the prices are higher. Hotels have lots of space and plenty of time so they keep the prices high. People buy these so they can give their jobs plenty of time in advance to know when they are going on vacation and whatnot. But, if nothing is tying you down, last minute is the way to go. Prices are up to 500 CHF cheaper than the original. Hotels want it all filled so they will lower their prices. So, for a package deal you pay for a beach resort hotel, all the food you can eat, free drinks until midnight, and all transportation needed to reach destination and back. Isabella, Barbara and I decided to go to Turkey. We choose a resort RIGHT on the beach in the tourist destination, Okujalar, for one week. (Yes! I can say I’ve been too Asia now!)

                I can’t tell you much about the culture of Turkey because I was in a tourist area surrounded by all sorts of tourists. The hotel resort we went to was full of Russians and Polish mainly with some Germans and a couple of French. All the workers were Turkish of course. They usually knew at least one other language, generally Russian, German or English so they may communicate with their wide variety of guests. Signs were always posted in a couple different languages. We were served breakfast, late breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, and midnight soup every day. All the foods prepared were of Turkish cuisine except at lunch there was two lunch areas and the casual one near the pool offered French fries and hamburgers every day. I tried TONS of foods! Textures and seasonings were quite different then what I am used too. But it was fascinating none the least. The first two or three days we all filled our plates of small amounts of food of EVERYTHING offered on the buffet. After awhile, I could identify the foods I knew I would like though so I stopped doing it. I even ate liver for the first time in my life! Breakfast was the only meal I would play it safe, I ate cereals. Isabella and I also tried a Turkish booze called Raki. It’s 45% alcohol content…very strong. It’s a clear liquid and it is typically drunk with water and ice. When water is added to it, it turns into this cloudy color. I couldn’t drink it, too strong of a taste. We did try taking shots of it though because our waiter said it would be good for our throats when we both caught colds. A lick of salts, a huge gulp of raki and sucking on a lemon….my oh my! Dangerous stuff. Ugh, thinking of it just sends shivers down my spine. Isa’s eyes even watered after the shot!!! Anyways, so we tried all these different types of foods and eventually we became known for always being seen “eating and drinking.” What a reputation huh? But hey, we were on vacation in Turkey!

                The typical day was spent sleeping on the beach, swimming in the ocean, eating a lot, going down the slides into the pool, chatting with other tourists or the animators, playing volleyball, participating in water games, drinking lots of water or this flavorful sweet drinks (like kool-aid), going to the show every night and then dancing at the disco afterwards. Every evening the resort put on some kind of entertainment for the guests each night, a few of which Isa and I participated in. The first night we were there, it was karaoke. Isa and I sang a duet of “Summer Nights” and then she sang on her own “Livin la vida loca.” Another night Isa was a model for leather. And then there was another night where the animators asked us to fill in on stage for the animators who left their contract early. Every night the resort had a disco. I only went two nights that I was there. And then another night, the resort arranged to go to a club in town so we took a bus with other guests from our hotel and the one next door to go to Summer Gardens. It was really neat. The whole club had an open roof to the sky except for the dance floor had these cool hangover things. There were two bars, lots of security, waterfalls, neat landscaping details, lots of sitting areas, and loud music with lots of lighting effects. We left about 3:30 in the morning, I was exhausted! And had a huge headache because the DJ wasn't very good....same beat the whole time.

                One day we went to a town nearby called Side with an arrangement made by the tour company we booked with. A bus took us into town and the tour guide explained (in German) different things about the culture and history of the area. Isa translated what she could for me. First we stopped at a jewelry store. Very pretty, but we weren’t really interested in it so we breezed through it fast. Then they took us into the shopping area. Very, very fast we quickly grew tired of hearing “Hello, where are you from?” and “Let me ask you a question…” and “What is your name?” Despite my wanting to strangle all the Turkish salesmen with their same old questions and pushiness, you can’t help but to be impressed how easily they adapt all their languages. They know Turkish, English, German, Russian, Polish, maybe French and probably more. They do everything they can to keep their sales up. Our tour guide explained to us that to rent a shop in Side it costs 15,000 Euros for only 3 months (half of the tourist season). That is a lot of money. And since all the shops are selling close to the same things, it explains why they are so in your face. We didn’t buy anything there because the tour guide also explained that the prices will be higher in this area than in bigger cities like Alayna (which we were going to visit the next day). It was very, very hot though and I can honestly say that I think I’ve never sweat so much in my life as that morning we were in Side. Side is also well known for all the Roman ruins left over from the days the Roman Empire occupied the area. This was really neat at how many were there and parts of it was in pretty good condition so I took many pictures of these ruins.

                Another day, we went to the big city of Alayna. The three of us went with a group of people from various hotels that were also part of our travel agency so we could go to the hammam for a Turkish bath. We get there early in the morning and are put in a women’s locker room to change into our bikinis and our given these strange rug looking towels. First thing we did was sit in a sauna. Then, a cold shower to rinse ourselves and then hop into the jazucci tub of semi-cold water. Then it was the steam room followed by what I want to call “the medicine room.” It was full of this strong hot smell that filled your lungs and it reminded me of cough drops. After that, you are placed on these marble uprising things for your peeling. I had a girl for my peeling, Isa had an older man, and Barbara had a young man. It’s just these body scrub things the workers put on their hands and rub all over your body with cold water. Afterwards, all your old nasty skin is gone and you’re left feeling as smooth as a baby’s bottom. Then, you go to another large marble table thing and you lie on the edge. I had a young man this time for this part. They dip these silky towel looking things into a basin of soapy bubbly water and then they shake it a bit and it expands into what looks a pillow covered in bubbles. It was really neat. They rub it all over your body, both sides of course, and then they like to spin you on the table a 360 degree turn! Then you take another rinse shower and are sent to wait in the lobby area for the next part. While waiting, we were served this delicious hot apple tea. It tasted like sweet apple juice heated. Yum yum! Then we were called to go into gender separated rooms for our body massages (this part only women are allowed to massage women and men for men) and then face mask. We drank more tea while our face mask dried and then we rinsed it off and we were done! It was a very neat, unique experience!

                Afterwards, we went shopping in the bazaar in downtown Alayna. Now, for those of you who don’t know much about shopping in countries like this, all the brand named products the shops offer are fakes and your barter with the shopkeeper (you try to settle prices with him or her, usually him). So, it was my first experience with bartering….oh, and on the side note, whether you barter or not, prices are way cheaper than what you find in the states or Europe anyways. The shops all take TL (Turkish Lire), US dollar, or the European Euro. Actually, some of the shopkeepers said they would take any kind of currency but it is usually the Euro, $ or TL that is dealt with. They usually always want bills not coins because you cannot exchange coins at the bank. The first place I go to I wanted postcards. It’s posted 15 postcards for 1 Euro. Damn, that cheap! Can you believe that! So a bought a few postcards. And I bought a few other small knick-knacks/presents for my family while I was there that could fit in my suitcase. For those of you who like purses, shoes, shirts, jackets, etc. with labels like Gucci, Prada, Adidas, Bench, D&G and so forth and don’t mind the lack of minor details offered by the real brand names, then this place is your paradise! Cheap prices that you can barter to make even cheaper! The shop keepers are friendly and pushy and more than likely can speak your language, so flirt, play hard to get and they will give you “free” gifts and lower their prices even more for you!!!

Shopping in Side

At a shop in the bazaar of Alayna! Check out the hookahs!

Isa and I on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea

View from our resort room, nice yes?