London

A little over a month ago, my friend Bree and I decided to take a somewhat spur of the moment trip to Europe to celebrate my college graduation and her new job. It was such a fantastic time, and the first time I had traveled to Europe on my own, so I figured that I’d take a few minutes to write about our time. We traveled to London, Hamburg, Berlin, and Reykjavik over about ten days. It was a whirlwind, but we did and saw so much! Today I’ll just talk about our time in London, and I’ll post about the other cities later.

First of all, we got our tickets for an insane deal by booking our trip through Toronto instead of leaving from the United States. Planning our trip in the middle of January definitely helped with the cost as well. We’re both from Michigan so the drive wasn’t too bad, and it was totally worth it. We flew IcelandAir, and it was a pretty great flight experience! The 10 hour layover in the Keflavik airport was pretty rough, but we didn’t expect much based on reviews we had read online. It was colder inside that airport than it was outside in any of the cities that we visited!

We spent about 3 days in London, 1 on the way to Germany, and 2 on the way back. Our first night, we stayed at a hotel in Shoreditch, but we didn’t spend too much time there. We headed straight to the tube and headed out for a full day of the “touristy stuff”. I had been to London once before, so I felt pretty comfortable navigating the underground to get us around the city. Our go-to app is Citymapper, it is the best. It gives both walking directions to and from the station, plus detailed instructions on which lines to take and how much your trip will cost. It also shows your your above ground options, including Uber! You can download them for offline use, which is perfect when you don’t have access to data. Our first stop was Buckingham Palace, where we happened to stumble upon the changing of the guard. It was pretty perfect timing, even though we hadn’t really planned on seeing that! After the festivities, we headed to the Westminster Abbey area to see the Abbey, Big Ben, and everything else that area has to offer.

The majority of our day was spent wandering around and taking your typical tourist photos. The weather was absolutely beautiful, which was a pleasant surprise for London! After checking items off of Bree’s bucket list (see the red phone booth photo below…), we headed to Stansted Airport to fly to Hamburg. I’ll write about that later, but for now we’ll just skip right back to our next few days in London on our way back!

On our way home, we stopped in London for another 2 days. We stayed at a hostel right across the street from the British Museum, and it was such a great experience. It was my first time staying in a hostel, so I wasn’t too sure what to expect! I used HostelWorld to find a place to stay, and the reviews were really helpful and aided our decision to stay at the Astor Museum Hostel. We were able to leave our luggage in the luggage room for free before we checked in, which was SO helpful.

The British Museum was our first stop after dropping off our luggage, and it was incredible. I am fairly certain you could spend a week in there and not see everything. Unfortunately, we only had a few hours. We did our best to hit some of the main exhibits, including the Rosetta Stone. Entry to the museum is free, which is another great thing. The amount of history within that building is somewhat mind-blowing. I would definitely recommend adding it to your London to-do list if you ever plan on visiting. Even if you don’t love history, you will most likely find something that piques your interest.

While we were at the museum, my friend Jordan from my summer study abroad program joined us! It was a crazy coincidence that she was in London at the same time as we were, and it was so great to catch up with her. We went and got fish and chips for lunch at Covent Garden, and wandered around there for a while. There are so many cute shops and restaurants, and some fun street performers as well. After that, we made our way to Trafalgar Square and Bree snapped this picture of us that reminds me of one of those study abroad ads that always pop up on my Facebook timeline. (Notice the sun, this is mid-January in London and I’m still blown away at how nice it was the days we were there!)

After saying goodbye to Jordan, Bree and I had our first experience getting somewhat lost on our way to see St. Paul’s Cathedral. Thankfully, we found our way and made it right around sunset. One of the best things I learned when I was in London over the summer is that there is this cool shopping “mall” type thing right across the street from St. Paul’s (I think it’s called One New Change?), and there is a rooftop patio where you can get a great view of the city. It has some cute stores and restaurants inside too, so after shopping for a bit, we made our way to the roof. If I ever make it back to London, I think I will suck it up and pay to go inside St. Paul’s, because I think it is just absolutely beautiful. But for now, we were satisfied with the outside view.

Our final day in London consisted of exploring Harrods and Piccadilly Circus before heading to Camden. The one stop we weren’t sure we would actually do ended up being our absolute favorite place we went our entire trip. Camden Market is a hipster’s paradise, with street art everywhere and so many local artists with the cutest shops and stalls. Had we known how much we would love it, we would have eaten lunch here as well. There were so many options that looked delicious! It’s the perfect place for gift shopping for anyone on your list, even though you’ll be tempted to keep everything you buy here. 10/10 would recommend! We were sad to leave, but we had one more stop before our trip back to Heathrow.

After Camden, we checked off Bree’s final bucket list item and headed to King’s Cross Station. Here we found Platform 9 3/4, and waited in line behind a giant group of London school children to get a picture. I’ve never seen or read HP, so this entire experience was underwhelming to me, but Bree was thrilled. I was interested in what a nifty little tourist trap they’ve turned it into. Fantastic work on that London, truly.

London is a place that I think I could go back to 100 times and never get sick of it at all. There is so much to do and see. I’ve been there three times now and still feel as though I haven’t even scratched the surface! Hopefully I was able to highlight some of our favorite stops during our short time there. Thank you for reading; next time we’ll talk about Hamburg!

Germany

 

A picture is worth 1,000 words, so I am going to walk through our time in Germany with pictures instead of a lot of words. It consisted of a lot of classes and assignments and exams, but we also had a lot of free time to walk around the old town area (every city seems to have one of those).

Ok. Here we go. Germany in pictures.

 

Our first day we had a corporate visit to John Deere HQ. We got a detailed tour and a few presentations on global strategy and company history. People wouldn’t stop singing country music.

 

We then headed to Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, where we had another presentation. We were dressed very professionally, but it started pouring rain on our walk over there so that kind of took away from our style vibes.

The next day we went to the European Central Bank, but I didn’t take any pictures there. Oops. I learned more about banking in these two days than I had ever learned in my entire life. Banking. What a concept.

Heidelberg was so cute and fun. I loved it. It was also the first city I felt 100% confident finding my way around in, so that was an exciting feeling.

 

We took a tour of Heidelberg Castle, which had a gorgeous view of the city. Our guide was telling us about the moats at the castle and how they didn’t have water in them. They were just grassy areas filled with tons of wild animals, which is just as intimidating I suppose.

One night we went downtown and saw fireworks over the river. They do a firework/light show at the castle on the anniversary of when it was attacked/set on fire. So the light show projected onto the castle, making it seem like it was on fire all over again. To be honest with you, we couldn’t see that part at all. But we were VERY close to where they were setting off fireworks, and I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t have happened in the States.

Our last day in Germany we went to a restaurant called SchnitzelHaus (highly recommended if you ever find yourself in Heidelberg). They boasted 100 types of schnitzel. It was right on the river, so we got an amazing view with our delicious schnitzel. I also wasn’t exactly sure what schnitzel was when I ordered it, but it was so good. I wonder how many times I can use the word schnitzel in this caption. Schnitzel.

 

We are currently in INDIA, and I still have lots of catching up to do, so thanks for sticking with me. I have been loving every minute, and learning SO much. Only about a month left on this journey. It is pretty crazy how slowly the days drag on, yet how quickly the weeks go by!

Detour

Before I post any more about the last two countries we’ve visited, I am taking a little detour. My heart is heavy about recent events, and I want to process a bit.

When I was younger, I loved learning about history. One textbook I had included a quote in the introduction that has stuck with me ever since. It simply stated,

“Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” 

Oftentimes when I watch or read the news, these words come back into my head. Recently, they just can’t seem to leave.

The other day we visited Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp. This was an absolutely surreal experience, and I will never forget it. I didn’t take pictures, I didn’t talk to anyone, I just wandered around and took it all in. This camp was a work camp for political prisoners, and eventually asocials- anyone who did not conform to the social norms of the Nazis. This included gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and anyone else they felt did not belong.

The conditions were horrendous, and about 32,000 people died there officially. The real number is unknown. One of the biggest things that struck me was that life as normal was going on outside the walls of Dachau. Those who lived in the surrounding area maybe heard rumors of what happened inside, but no one cared to do anything about it. It is difficult to grasp this reality, but what happened in Nazi Germany is not an isolated incident in world history.

From the beginning of time, people have wanted a savior. Someone who would protect them from their enemies and make right all of the injustice in the world. This desire had the potential to put a good ruler in power, but eventually, society did not look picture perfect anymore. Their savior was failing them. The next step was to look for someone to blame for these issues in society. It is simple to find someone to blame, and turn the focus of society’s fears on them. Very quickly, loyalties are tested and those found not conforming are blamed and ostracized, or even killed.

Too often we let fear dictate our lives, both personally and collectively. Anything different or uncomfortable is a danger and should be avoided. Many people prey on these fears and build them up to a point where fear turns into hate, and that is where the real danger lies. Hate and fear can motivate people to do terrible things to each other. We have seen it throughout history, and unfortunately, we are seeing it more and more every day. Instead of learning from the past, we let ourselves get sucked into the same cycle. It is a hopeless cycle. Before we are even given time to grieve a tragedy, it is turned into a blame battle motivated by the same fear and hate that caused it to occur in the first place.

It is so easy to sit back and just watch events unfold without saying a word. When the injustice doesn’t have a direct impact on our lives, why should we bother getting involved? This thought process is so wrong and dangerous. If we have the privilege of actually having a voice, we should be using it for those who do not. Another historical quote that comes to my mind in these situations is one from Martin Niemoller, a pastor during WWII. It comes from a poem he wrote after the war. He stated:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

This poem puts things in a sobering perspective. As humans, we are all different and part of different subgroups. But every single human has value and was made in the image of God. That makes it our responsibility to speak up about injustice. We cannot let fear and hate blind us to these facts. It’s a vicious cycle that cannot continue.

How do we end this cycle? It is hard to give an exact solution. But after the events in Orlando this weekend, the outpouring of love from all sides of the issue has given me hope. It is okay to disagree with other people, their choices, and have different opinions. But these differences should not breed hate. When tragedy strikes any group of people, we should stand by them as they mourn. But it should not take tragedy to show love. At that point, it may even be too late. We are not called to love under certain circumstances. We are called to love always.

Fear is a breeding ground for hate, but love is a breeding ground for hope.

 

 

Russia

I apologize for the delay in posting!! It has been a whirlwind of a week, and the Wi-Fi has been unpredictable at best.

Friday (May 27^th)

After a 16 hour sleeper train ride (best sleep I’ve had on this trip so far), we arrived in Russia on Friday morning. After a quick breakfast we headed to a briefing with a company that produces packaging. We had just come off of a week learning in-depth detail about Russian history and economy, so it was very interesting to hear the perspective of someone actually doing business in Russia. A student asked him why he chose to go into packaging, and he stated that with the economy the way it is, he needed to do something that would always be useful to people. Living in the United States, the sanctions against Russia don’t seem to mean much, but the impact of the political climate was very real and very clear throughout all of our business visits.

Our big Friday night plans included dinner and a trip to go see Swan Lake. SWAN LAKE. IN RUSSIA. Wow. It was amazing. When I was younger, I did ballet for maybe 2 years? I hated it and my mom will tell you how much I cried every week when it was time to go. But as I grew up, I was always interesting in learning about the world of ballet, so this was an amazing experience. Seeing a ballet in Russia is maybe one of the coolest things I’ve done so far. Everything was flawless and just so beautiful. Even the guys in our group loved it.

Saturday

Saturday was a long day packed full of some pretty touristy things. We began the day at the Red Square, where we were turned away because they had closed the entire thing down for the day without notifying anyone (which is always comforting…). Once we readjusted our schedule, we headed to the Kremlin Territory and began with a tour of the Armory, an amazing museum of Russian history. I love museums but I don’t love museum tours quite as much… But we learned a lot and got to see some incredible coaches, coronation gowns, and Faberge eggs, which I’ve always wanted to see. After the Armory, we walked around Cathedral Square and saw the inside of a few cathedrals. The architecture was gorgeous and so far, I haven’t gotten tired of looking at old churches.

In the afternoon we took a river cruise down the Volga River, which gave us a new view of the city, as well as some time to relax.

We ate dinner at a restaurant that was a lot like a cafeteria (a lot of restaurants in Moscow were like this), you went through a line with a tray and pointed at what you wanted to eat and then they just rang you up at the end. I am fairly convinced every cashier hates us because we are given stipends for our meals in pretty large denominations in each city, and when all 41 of us go to the same place and try to break them… It’s a bit of a mess.

After dinner we headed to the Russian Circus, which was a very interesting experience. I’m not a huge fan of clowns so this wasn’t exactly a personal highlight. OH. One thing about entertainment in Russia… Instead of giving standing ovations at the end of something really good, everyone just starts slowly clapping in unison. It is honestly one of the creepiest things, and some students in our group have started trying to get it to catch on whenever we clap for something. Not the best thing that has happened.

Sunday

On Sunday morning we attended part of a service at the largest Russian Orthodox church in the world. It was breathtaking, figuratively and literally, because there was a lot of incense involved. But it was so beautiful and it had me wondering if church architecture is representative of worship or of pride. I’m sure it can be both, depending on the circumstance. We then attended a service at an international church, which was a pretty typical church service.

After lunch, we went to a place called Bunker 42. It was a bunker used by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, 65 meters underground with tunnels spreading out all over the city. Our tour here was fascinating because it was the history of the Cold War from the Russian perspective. I think that whenever I learned about the Cold War in school, I did not really understand the significance and the enormous implications it held for the trajectory of human history. This visit made it feel a lot more real.

After climbing back up 18 flights of stairs, we headed to the Red Square. This was my favorite part of our trip so far. It was magnificent and so full of history. I’ve seen a million pictures of St Basil’s Cathedral, but it was so much more impressive in real life. We ate dinner inside the mall on the Red Square, in another cafeteria-like restaurant. This was a very long day, but it is definitely one that I will never forget. Although, as I was writing this I definitely forgot about the bunker part and had to add that.

Monday

Monday was full of corporate and organizational visits. First, we went to a sci-fi themed conference room of sorts, where we heard from to expats on their business endeavors in Russia. One runs a non-profit, while the other runs a language school. They talked about their businesses a bit, but they also talked about following God wherever He leads. This is a difficult message for a group of highly motivated business students to hear, but it was also very encouraging.

In the afternoon, the accounting majors on this trip were beyond excited because we had our visit to Ernst & Young, one of the “big four” accounting firms. This was an extremely professional visit, and we learned about EY Russia, as well as the current state of the Russian economy. This was interesting because we got the perspective of an international businessman and the perspective of a Russian citizen. Needless to say, they were very different opinions.

Tuesday

Our final day in Moscow was a whirlwind of packing, a corporate visit, and airport security. We visited KPMG, another big four firm. Professor Rich would be so proud of all the accounting things I learned this week. Our presenter here was a Christian, and he spoke about how to be a Christian in any work environment. His advice was so encouraging, and all of us left hoping to find a boss like him one day. He was fully focused on loving God and loving others, and it showed even in the short time he was able to speak with us. That is something so unique about this program. We have had some incredible speakers who care about this next generation of potential employees, and we are getting some world-class advice.

Now

I am currently in Germany, and will try to post about it soon! Here’s a sneak peek: the fire alarm has gone off a few times in our hotel. So that’s always an experience.

 

 

Lithuania Part II

Sunday

On Sunday we attended the church that happens to be right on campus at LCC International University, our home for the first half of this week. We were able to download an app called interactio that translated the service for us. The cool thing about the app is that it was created and developed by recent grads of LCC, and is becoming more and more popular. Recently, TED X began using it to translate for some of their events! It was a good service, honestly pretty similar to a typical up and coming evangelical church in the US. The lead singer of the worship band was an incredible singer, and it was great to sing along in English, and then in Lithuanian once we caught on to the words a bit.

After church, we ate lunch and headed off to the beach in Nida, a resort town on the Baltic sea. We took a ferry to get there, and our entire coach just drove right on and we rode across without even leaving the bus. I know that’s not super unique, but it was the first time I had experienced it so it was kind of nifty. Nida had some gorgeous sand dunes and cute shops that we stopped at before spending a while playing volleyball and dipping our feet in the water (some people were courageous enough to actually swim, but it was like mid-April Lake Michigan water, so I passed on that part).

Monday

Monday was our first real day of class work, with 3 hour of comparative economics in the morning. One cool thing about this class is that we will be learning about different economic systems and their history as we prepare to travel to certain countries. For the first part of the class, we had a bit of a crash course on Russian history and economics. Honestly, I’m kind of a history nerd so I loved learning about it and am so excited to keep learning.

In the afternoon we had a corporate visit to the Klaipeda Port Authority, where we learned a lot about the different types of things that are transported through Lithuania. Klaipeda has the perfect location for being a bustling shipping port, and it was great to learn about the plans for growth in that area. We also went on a tour of BEGA, a local shipping company. We were left on our own for dinner that night and some new friends (yes, I’m making friends) and I ended up at this massive mall downtown. We ate sushi at a restaurant overlooking a hockey rink, so that was a very different experience. When we returned to LCC, we mentally prepared for what was to come on Tuesday… I did this by staring out the window at the coolest backyards I’ve seen.

Tuesday

Yesterday pretty much all we did was listen to 3 hours of economics in the morning, eat lunch, and listen to 3 hours of economics in the afternoon. Props to Dr. Koch for somehow keeping it interesting. I have no idea how I would figure out 6 hours worth of something to talk about. After class, we had dinner, and then studied for our exam over Russian history and economics. The first test in any class is always interesting, and it’s even more interesting when you’ve learned all the material in a matter of a few very concentrated class periods…

Wednesday (Today)

This morning began with our first exam, and was followed by a corporate visit to Albright, a factory that produces electrical switches. It was a really interesting visit, despite not being something I was familiar with at all. On our tour, the worker showing us around led us to a door and said “and this is the restroom, where people come to lay down or watch tv on their breaks”; we were all pretty confused by this. Then, he opened the door. It was not a bathroom, as our brains immediately thought, but it really was just a “rest room”. It had couches, TVs, and a foosball table. Anyway. Hopefully you are pity laughing at that story because after typing it I feel like maybe it was a “you had to be there” moment, but I’m on a roll and am not going to delete it.

In the afternoon we drove to Palanga, another resort town with a long boardwalk. We had a bit of free time here and wandered around down to the beach again (it was even colder today). I would love to see this town during peak tourist season because it was pretty phenomenal. There were shops, restaurants, and fun things to do lining either side of the main street, and the beach was gorgeous. For dinner we went to a place called HBH, which was a restaurant and family fun zone type deal. The food was amazing and we wandered around outside for a bit, playing basketball and checking out the petting zoo. This place had everything.

Oh. I guess I haven’t been great about actually talking about the food we eat, but that is never the first thing that crosses my mind. Tonight at dinner we had a traditional Lithuanian appetizer (I could tell you the name but I’m not sure how to spell it and my attempts on google have not produced any results). It consisted of fried potatoes, shredded cheese, and garlic. It was so so so so so GOOD.

Tomorrow

Today was our last day in Lithuania, and tomorrow we begin our travels to Russia. On our way, we’ll be stopping in Latvia for a few hours. We will then board a sleeper train to Moscow where we’ll hopefully get some rest during our 16 hour ride…

Lithuania has been so great. 10/10 would recommend. Also, special thanks to LCC International University and especially Kristen and Jennie, our fantastic hosts/guides. The logistics of this part of the trip have been so flawless.

 

Lithuania Part I

Arrival

On Thursday, after a few flight delays and one big time change, we safely arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania. Once we arrived, we hit the ground running. Our group had been together for quite a few hours by this point, and friendships were quickly forming. A little over half of the 41 students on this trip are from Messiah College, with others coming from Biola, Olivet Nazarene, Cornerstone, Colorado Christian, and a few other schools that are slipping my mind currently. I am the only Cedarville student on the trip this year (quick plug for any Cedarville business students reading this… It’s only been 3 days and I can already tell you it is 100% worth it.) so it has been fun to meet students from different schools.

We dropped our stuff at the hotel and headed to dinner at Belmontas, a restaurant/park/casually gorgeous place. So far, all of our meals have been chosen for us ahead of time, which has been kind of nice. Tomorrow we’ll have our first meal on our own, so that will be a fun experience too. Most people here in Lithuania speak English, but we have been picking up some words here and there in Lithuanian.

Friday

Friday began with a trip to the U.S. Embassy in Lithuania, where we learned a lot about the history, politics, and economics of the country. Honestly, if you asked me to list as many countries in the world as I could, Lithuania probably wouldn’t break the top 100… But it is a fascinating place with a lot of history and a very strong national identity. As a smaller country in Europe, it has been occupied many times by other countries. The older generations here have lived through 6 different occupations, and the country has only been completely independent for 25 years.

After the embassy, we went to lunch and then on to a KGB museum. This was a pretty sobering visit. It also reinforced the feeling I had gotten that Lithuanians are fiercely loyal to their country. Our tour guide was friendly and made some jokes as he explained more about the country’s history, but he was also extremely serious about the past and the future. One thing he said that really stuck with me was, “today I am just a tour guide, but if something should happen tonight, tomorrow I would be fighting for my country just like the brave people who came before me.”

Finally, we visited the presidential palace. Unlike the USA, the president here does not live and work in the same building. The working palace is in the middle of the city, and this is where we visited. We learned more about the political history, and how much progress they have been able to make in their short time of independence. Their current president is a woman, and is the first president to be elected for consecutive terms– so shouts out to the women doing a great job in politics. Dinner was followed by some free time in the city. Most of us ended up walking to an old castle at the top of a hill to settle in and watch the sun set over the city.

Today (Saturday)

This morning marked the start of our first class of the summer: Comparative Economic Systems. We’ll be taking all of our classes in intense sessions of a few weeks at a time, but this morning was the equivalent of syllabus day, easing us into a week of 3 hour class in the morning, lunch, and 3 hours in the afternoon. After class, we packed up our stuff and headed for Klaipeda and LCC International University.

On our way, we stopped at a cute cabin restaurant on a lake, and then took some time to visit a castle in Trakai. After we explored a bit, we headed back on the bus for a 4 hour ride to LCC. After dinner, we had another class session for CES. We had more free time tonight, which was mostly spend playing games and getting to know each other more. Tomorrow we’ll have our first international church experience, which I am so excited about. I love worshiping with people who speak a different language than I do. There is something so special about it.

Thank you for your prayers and kind words so far! This is definitely shaping up to be the summer of a lifetime.

 

Pre-Departure

Introductory posts are always a little strange, and if you have clicked on a link to get to this post, you probably already know why I am writing. So. I’ll jump right in!

In less than 48 hours, I will be on a plane ride to New York City where I will meet the 40 other students I will be traveling with for the rest of the summer. From JFK, we will be headed to Brussels, Belgium and finally to Vilnius, Lithuania, where the adventure will really start.

Through the International Business Institute (http://bit.ly/1Oh8Yyq) I have the opportunity to travel to 13 countries and earn 12 credits towards my international business minor. In between visits to international corporations and tourist attractions, we will be studying comparative economics, international trade and finance, international strategy, and international marketing. Over the next 10 weeks we will be headed to:

• Vilnius, Lithuania 
• Klaipeda, Lithuania 
• Riga, Latvia
• Moscow, Russia 
• Heidelberg, Germany
• Prague, Czech Republic
• Innsbruck, Austria 
• Geneva, Switzerland
• Paris, France
• Brussels, Belgium
• Rotterdam, Netherlands 
• London, England
• Chennai, India 
• Delhi, India
• Shanghai, China
• Dalian, China 
• Beijing, China 

I am excited to be able to share a bit of this adventure with you all. Please feel free to share any travel advice, ask questions, or just read along! I will be doing my best to post semi-regularly with pictures and updates on new things I’ve been learning. I know God has some big plans for this summer, and I cannot wait to see what is in store.