Ticket Booked!

BIG NEWS: I've booked my ticket to Amsterdam! Yes. This solidifies the fact that this is actually happening and now I start making a list of what I'm going to do when I get there and whatnot. It's just, the excitement; it's slowly killing me. I'm so happy!

Commencement Speeches

I know I'm not abroad yet, but some things have to be told. I feel as though it's important for you--dear reader--to be familiar with how I see the world. Tonight's post is about my recent discovery: I've discovered that commencement addresses are fantastic. Typically I've been reading college addresses, but a great speech can come from anywhere. The important thing here is that it's spoken. Spoken word. It's poetry. It's magical. It's art. One of my favorites was a speech that David Foster Wallace gave to Kenyon College in 2005 before his untimely death. It is now a book, but can still be read here. Additionally, I've also stumbled upon a link of Neil Gaiman giving the 2012 address to the University of the Arts graduates, which can be found here. I recommend you watch the video--the text is a little off and it doesn't display the kind of charisma that Gaiman has while speaking. So my question then to you is this: have you ever heard a great speech? Have you read one? If so, I want to hear about it, so leave a comment below.

Rachel

Trips: Food.

Let's be frank: I love food. One of my goals for this blog is to document as many meals as I can. I find that I learn so much about a culture and society through food customs and traditions. After school's done and I'm back home for the summer, I hope to try some of my own cooking and up load those pictures as well. Perhaps, if you're lucky dear readers, I'll even upload some school meals here. What a deal!

-Rachel

P.S. Can you tell I haven't done much blogging before? Yup, it's an adventure in the making, that's for sure.

Welcome!

Hello Reader--

Welcome to my blog! I'm currently finishing my second year at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, and I will be studying abroad this fall in Amsterdam. I will be blogging about my adventures, and I hope to document my thoughts beforehand, during, and afterwards. I'll be posting more updates as I go along, but for now, I'm just trying to navigate blogspot.

It'll be an adventure, that's for sure. Pictures to come! See you soon, friend.

-Rachel