Second Semester Courses

A really good thing about coming back for a new semester is getting all new classes. So far, I really like my classes this semester. I am taking philosophy and religion as my core classes this semester. I like my philosophy class a lot. I have never taken a course in philosophy before, so it is really interesting. And my professor has some pretty funny ways of explaining things, which makes the class go by pretty fast. I also have my first class in the new science building this semester. I am still an undecided major, so I am taking general psychology course this semester just to test out some different stuff. So far, it is pretty interesting. Also, after being in Austria, I have found my second semester of German even more interesting. Actually hearing people speak the language has given me more motivation to learn it. I am pretty sure that I want to continue taking German past the regular two-semester requirement. It would be awesome to study abroad in Germany or Austria and be able to become fluent. Another course I am taking this semester is Mediated Communications. It is only once a week for 2 and a half hours. It is pretty long to sit through, but I really like the professor, so that makes the time go by quicker.

I am really excited for this weekend. Both of my roommates are going out of town, so one of my good friends, Kelly, is going to spend the weekend in my dorm with me. We did that a couple times last semester too, and it is always so much fun! We are also going to take the shuttle to the movies and see Dear John. Hopefully it’s a good movie and a great weekend!!

Back at the Hill

The first couple of weeks back at school have been great! It was so awesome getting to see all of my friends and get back into the swing of things. Being back in my dorm is great. I actually missed my bed here. And even though it was nice being back in the warm weather in California, I realized I actually missed the snow. New England of course welcomed me back with some snow in the first couple days back, and I actually really liked. I’m sure if it keeps coming down I won’t be saying the same thing, but right now I am enjoying. Some of my friends and I took advantage of the first snowfall back and made a snowman. By the time we made it, the snow had become pretty icy, so it’s not the best snowman ever, but it was really fun making it. Stonehill also welcomed us back with the Whiteout Ball last weekend. It was a semi-formal dance in the Sports Complex. Everyone got all dressed up and danced the night away. I had a really good time.

Also, last weekend, my friend Joey and I went into Boston for the day for the Harry Potter Exhibit at the Boston Museum of Science. We have been planning on going to that since the beginning of the year, so we were really excited. We took the shuttle and then the T into Boston. Neither of us have had much experience on the T, so we were a little worried, but we made it there safely. The exhibit was amazing! There were props and costumes from all of the Harry Potter movies there. It was so cool. One of our favorite things was they actually had a place in there where you could play quidditch (not on brooms, of course, but it was still fun), and you could also sit in Hagrid’s chair. It was such a fun day!

Break in California :)

Being home in California has been great. It has been over 4 months now that I have been gone, so being home was awesome. The weather was obviously a nice change. I can’t even remember the last time I wore shorts and flip flops outside. But the best part about being home was seeing all of my friends. Right when I got home from Europe, my best friend Jenn had a dinner party at her house for a bunch of our girlfriends. That was so much fun. It has been so long since I have seen all of them, so it was great to catch up. Unfortunately, Jenn’s school is on a different schedule than us, so she already had to head back to school on the January 3^rd. So, because I only got to see her at home for a couple of days, when the next weekend rolled around, I drove up to her school and spent the weekend there. That was probably the highlight of my time at home. She goes to UC Santa Barbara which is only a couple of hours away from home, right on the beach. It is gorgeous there. And even better, one of my other best friends, Juliana, is her roommate. So I got to spend the whole weekend with both of them. It was really great meeting their friends, going to Jenn’s sorority, and just actually getting to see what their lives are like. They both seem really happy, so that made me really happy.

The rest of my break at home I spent hanging out with my other friends that were home. My brother and sister had to head back to school a week earlier than me, so the house was pretty quiet my last week home. But, now it is time to head back to Stonehill. I am so excited! I cannot wait to see everyone and get to my classes. It is going to be a great semester!

Europe Trip!

Wow! I can’t believe I am already back home from Europe. It was so amazing!! It was definitely the best vacation I have ever been on. The last day of school, my Dad flew into Boston to pick me up. I was so glad he came here, because doing my first international flight by myself would’ve been a little scary. The flights were long, but not really as bad as I thought they would be. But, once we got there, I was definitely glad to be on the ground. My sister Kelly and my mom flew from California, and my brother Michael and sister Christine flew from Chicago because they were at school too. We all met in Austria, and our trip began!

We spent the first six days of our trip in Salzburg, Austria. That was definitely my favorite place. Our hotel was right by the center of town that had a big Advent Mart for the holidays. That was a really cool place to walk around at night. Our time in Austria was very laid back, since we had so much time there. My sister Christine and I found it hard to adjust to the time zone, so we took what became known as our “post-lunch laps” every day. We got into a really nice routine there that made it feel a lot like home. Every day we would find somewhere new to walk around, and just take in the sights, then we would go to the grocery store or the Advent mart for meals, and then come back to our hotel and just spend time together. One of my favorite memories there was walking to Auniff, a small town nearby where my dad lived in college. We got to walk through parts of Austria that were in “The Sound of Music.” That was really cool. Another great memory of Austria was Christmas. We got a little tree from the Advent mart and brought it up to our hotel room. We obviously didn’t have lights or ornaments, so we improvised with ornaments made of wrapping paper. It was so much fun making the ornaments and listening to Christmas music. Even though it was a very different Christmas, it is definitely one of my favorite ones.

We then spent most of the rest of our trip in Rome. Rome was very different from what I expected. I was only picturing all the historic stuff I’ve seen in pictures or on TV. I wasn’t expected to also be such a big modern city as well. There were so many people on the streets all the time. It was crazy. I still really liked it though. One of my

favorite places was the Vatican. It was so awesome going to mass in St. Peter’s and seeing the Pope speak. I think that is something every Catholic should get to experience someday.

Overall, the trip was incredible! But, the best part about it was just getting to spend time with my family. Now that all my siblings and I are older, it is very rare when we are all together. It was really nice to be away with them, with no other distractions like work and other friends. It was just family time, and I loved it.

That will definitely be a trip that I remember for the rest of my life. And now it’s almost time to head back to the Hill. I do have a couple weeks here in California, and I plan to make the most of them, because I won't be back until March!