Studying vs. Traveling

I am booked for the next 7 weeks. I am travelling every weekend or I am having a visitor.

Last weekend, I went to Amsterdam with Jillian, Drew, Jim and Alex. We stayed at the Hotel Armada which was right on a canal. The city was beautiful and very similar to Copenhagen with lots of bikes, water and overcast weather. I visited the Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank Huis and the Heineken Experience. I walked the whole city and when I got home monday morning, I was wiped.

Tomorrow night I am headed to Budapest with some new friends. I have heard really good things about the city and I am so excited to travel again. Everything is a lot cheaper there and I can't wait to see the natural hot springs! I just bought a new "camping" style backpack and it makes travel SO much easier.

When I get home on monday, I am faced with 2 research paper midterms. They are due the week after but Tyler will be here and I don't want to spend my time on school work while he is here. It is taking all the self-discipline I have to get these papers done in advance. I have already done the research and made an outline for the finance paper, but I have yet to even pick a topic for my 10 page Holocaust & Genocide paper!

Tyler comes in 8 days!!! It could NOT be at a better time. I can't wait to see him and show him the city. Having visitors, especially your boyfriend, is so exciting!

Tyler leaves thursday and I leave saturday for 3 weeks of travel. I'm really looking forward to Berlin and Prague and I know my adventure trip in Ireland will be so exciting.

On another note, Colin and I got bikes yesterday. There is a place where you can rent them and they use the profits to fix up bikes and send them to Africa. For about 2 months and 2 weeks of rental, we paid 700 DKK which is about 115 dollars. We chose to get a bike that was one level up because they were a bit nicer. I rode to class this morning and managed not to injure anyone. I'm still very slow and unsure about the rules. After a few more ride, I'm sure I'll pick it up. It is so liberating to finally have a bike because I do not have to rely on public transportation. My bus went on strike last week and it was so much more difficult to get around because the train station is not as accessible. I'm excited to explore more of the city on my bike.

Side Comment: I have finally figured out my living situation for next year. Lizzie and I found a really cute 2 bedroom place on McFarlin. It is within walking distance but now that I'm becoming such an avid biker, I really want to bring my bike to school and ride to class and maybe even venture out on the Katy Trail. Since I have to bring more stuff to school this year, my mom suggested that I rent a UHaul van and drive to school. I have already secured Tyler to assist me with this trip. It will be fun for him to see SMU and who else would I want to keep me company for a 24 hour drive to Texas?!?!

A few people have already had their parents visit and it is getting me so excited for when my mom comes in April!!

Alright, that's all for now. More when I get back from Budapest!