Start of a great week

Apologizes for not having working Internet, the bastards at the Copenhagen hostel charge for everything, including this. So I have been writing what’s been going on this past week and am posting it in Berlin.Spring Break 2010, obviously the best Spring Break of my life: Prague, Copenhagen, Malmo, and Berlin

Prague (Czech Republic) was amazing! Literally like the Las Vegas of Europe. Everyone we met was from the UK coming to have a weekend “with the guys”…see do you understand the Las Vegas-like feel? It was so ironic that we barely met any Czech people…everyone was from London or Leeds or Liverpool and on their “get-away weekend.” We went on this pub-crawl where our tour guide was from…get this…K-State. I know crazy right?!? I tried to be mean to him but he luckily told me that his parents went to KU. We had a good time, meeting really friendly guys who kept using phrases like “taking a piss” and “pulling my wanker” but would laugh at me constantly when I said “oh my god” or “you’re full of shit” because basically… they totally were. I met my perfect British husband, Carl. He’s perfect. Adorable. But unfortunately…lives in London. Oh well. We ended up at a five-story club that has different music and themes on each floor. This famous European bar was beyond hilarious…we say this scary ass he/she dancing in a tight mesh shirt

(I truly couldn’t tell you if it was a man or a woman). Ironically the 70s and 80s music floor was more fun than the hip-hop floor. Like Saturday Night Fever, we danced on floor tiles that flashed different colors. Singing Grease and Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer. We went on the same pub-crawl again the next night and met up with other girls on our study abroad group.

Food and Beer is phenomenal here. We did a Beer tasting and ate Beef Goulash and dumplings at night (it takes just like pot roast…but better). The next day we did a walking tour of the city that has a wealth of history and amazing views. Prague is inexpensive and has a million things to do and see… one of the best places I’ve ever been, it beats out Switzerland and Italy as my favorite place in Europe for a good time.

Copenhagen (Denmark) It had the brick buildings of Boston and Philadelphia mixed with trendy modern architecture of Seattle or the new downtown Kansas City. It is literally a breathtaking architectural view. Half the stuff was closed because it was cold but we still managed to walk around and enjoy the sites. 7-11s were everywhere and we pretty much needed them to survive. The constant runs to get hot chocolate was the only reason I am not currently suffering from frostbite. Oh did I mention it is crazy expensive here?!?! My bank account took a serious beating from the bullshit charges forced upon me by this hostel. Boo! Since Hans Christian Andersen is from Copenhagen, they erected a little mermaid statue near the harbor in recognition of his story. Since the Little Mermaid is my FAVORITE Disney movie it was obvious that we venture over there.

I walked literally ON the river, over frozen ice to get this statue but it was totally worth it. I semi felt like man vs. wild. Then of course, I had to get my hot chocolate fix and sadly paid a whopping $9..i know, desperation leads me to do stupid things. By the way, a nod to my AXO girls…Open Face Sandwiches are famous Danish food. Not the same as what Mark makes, but they are damn good here.

The next day we went took a 35-minute train ride to Malmö, Sweden. Really cool city, lively people, and beautiful views. Sadly, the weather prevented us from going many places. The wind was beyond brutal, I thought I was going to lose my face…literally have it be ripped off. We walked in the shopping district where the people greet each other with the formal greeting of “Hey! Hey!” Very rapid and comical, I want to laugh but then realize that they are formally saying hello to me…I just want to retort “Hey! Hey! Hey!” but then they might think I am an ass. It’s because I am. The people both in Copenhagen and Malmo are stunning. Their icy blue eyes are gorgeous with their nice long blond hair. I literally was the darkest thing on the street…I probably looked like an alien to them. But yes, it was totally worth taking a day trip to Sweden, because hell…now I can say I’ve been to Sweden.

Oh have I mentioned that during my entire trip thus far I have been intensely reading a new romance novel…the girls who know me best are not surprised….but I do have to mention that it was a lovely read and I will lend it to you when I get home. Since the weather has given our skin a serious beating we have had to stay in our hostel quite a bit and read to help pass the time. I swear, once I get a TV I won’t know what to do with it.

So I have internet in Berlin and will put up a different post for that. Let me know what you think

Trying not to get mugged

Ladini

Praha Problems

So we just started our ten-day break: Milan for the night to catch an early flight to Prague. We had these creepy Italian men follow us who were infatuated with Katie’s use of a north face roo fanny pack as a sling across her back. They were truly perplexed by the image of her roo sticking out under her coat. I think they may have even tried to poke it...it looked like a tumor.

When we finally made it to Prague I immediately ran into our hostel room and went crazy because its PHENOMENAL…too bad I ripped the only jeans I brought for our spring break…. please dear god tell me that I didn’t rip my jeans because I’m fat…please please please

Now that I don’t have school to interrupt my life I will do a better job updating you all on my trip. We are in Prague until Monday and I get free wifi in my room. It’s a trade off to the ripped jeans

Meandering my way through Prague,

Ladini

They call me "Miss India"

So I was kindly informed by Elise that my Blog isn’t that engaging. Apologies! I will try to fix that.

I started writing this blog for my parents and didn’t realize that my friends would be reading this as well. As Kevo mentioned, it didn’t sound like Ladini—there was no sarcasm and random ranting. And this is very true, so this post I dedicate to Elis

e and Kevin—I promise to make my future blogs sound like me, and not a boring textbook. J

(Though this is not meant to be negative but…) Things that annoy me about Italy:

• PDA: I realize Italy is a romantic place, and seeing people holds hands and lightly kiss is adorable. But what I have seen isn’t adorable. It’s sex standing up. Couples on the street will be walking hand in hand strolling casually and then BAM—intense make out session. They don’t even move to the side of the wall, just in the middle of the sidewalk causing serious traffic jams. But then I feel like other couples see this and engage in their own make out session. Now I have sidewalks clogged with intense passion. I swear its like they are trying to suck the souls out of each other…its borderline violent. When we were in Lucca, we took a bike ride and when we started we saw a couple sitting on a ledge making out. After we made the 45-minute loop around the city…the couple was still there but this time awkwardly rocking back and forth…we took pictures…and made up our own commentary as we stupidly watched. I was on the bus back from Fiesole and two 13 years olds sat behind me and started kicking my chair. I turn around to see them making out HARD CORE! It disturbs me. I know that on Valentine’s Day…I’m going to have to stay inside. I just may kill myself
• Sidewalk etiquette: the sidewalks are rather narrow in Italy, but what is difficult is that they are right next to walls of buildings (where in America either side there is a space of grass or dirt usually). People, especially old women, love to walk down the center of the sidewalk and when they see you coming, they don’t move. I actually had a grandma poke me in the stomach with her umbrella for me to move. It hurt! I always have to walk in the street or press myself against the wall to make way for them. But nooooooo, they don’t move for me! I had to walk to the train station with my massive hiking pack and people still wouldn’t move… I was so irate that I was about to body check someone and scream.
• Aggressive Men: I knew Italians men were very forward and it don’t really mind. Usually the girls in my group get the typical “Ciao Bella!” But for me…there is a whole different phrase. Our instructors informed me that my skin color was a rarity in Italy. When Italians see foreigners, they are typically Caucasian Americans. So when they see me, who appears to be an American foreigner, they feel the need to isolate me with a different phrase of choice…which happens to be “Miss India.” Its like they all got together and decided to call me that. I walk on the street and hear “Miss India…kiss kiss...!” ALL THE TIME I don’t know what is more entertaining—that every man has called me the exact same title, or that they feel the need to use this phrase in the first place. But even more hilarious is that I keep getting free stuff. When I was in Pisa, a guy called me “Miss India”—without thinking I responded, “I’m not INDIAN!” and ended up having to talk to him…he gave me a free turtle statue…random. Then when I was in the market, someone asked me if I was Indian, and I said “No, I am Sri Lankan.” Immediately he grabs my wrist and ties a bracelet on it, telling me that he LOVES Sri Lankans. Then he proceeded to give all the girls in my group free bracelets and an extra discount because he loved Sri Lankans. Yet again, random. But it’s okay because I LOVE free stuff.

So hopefully that was a more entertaining blog, trust me there are more to come. I just didn’t think you wanted to read about it. Enjoy, and leave a comment for me

Ciao!

Ladini aka “Miss India”