Time-out

Last week I was sitting in my room, refusing to spend more time in the low temperatures on the city streets than absolutely necessary. I was snowed under with work; busy studying for exams. One day, I found myself staring at one of my wallpapers that looks very similar to this picture:

My thoughts started to drift away – to a relaxing vacation I spent in Italy a few years ago…  

I’m lying on a towel on a small, peaceful beach. Unlike overcrowded Italian tourist hotspots like Lignano and Bibione, only a few towels and sun loungers are scattered across the beach. I’m absolutely relaxed, reading a gripping book. My toes are moving in the warm, golden sand and I smell the scent of the pine trees that surround the remote beach. Feeling the sun warming my back, hearing the soothing sound of the waves brushing up on the beach, I close my eyes and slowly drift off to sleep…
When I wake up, the distant cawing of seagulls has been replaced by the chirping of crickets. I open my eyes, sit up and see the sun approaching the horizon. The beach, the pine forest and the sky are bathed in a warm orange and yellow light. I’m gazing at the dark blue and partly black sea that is contrasting sharply with the orange sky and somehow has a relaxing, calming effect on me. I can’t help but stay motionless, drinking in the atmosphere.  As the sun disappears, it becomes chillier and I realize I should probably get going…

My thoughts snap back to reality and reluctantly I turn my eyes away from the picture and continue studying, full of new energy ;)

Language Holidays in Ireland

In 2011 I spent two weeks in Ireland. A friend and I flew to Dublin and subsequently went to Galway, which is located on the west coast of the Emerald Isle, by bus. There, we spent our language holidays that were organized by “LISA! Study abroad” (in German the organization is called: LISA! Sprachreisen)

In case any of you is thinking about attending language classes abroad, I would like to tell you about my experiences and share my thoughts about language holidays:

+ school

One day after our arrival in Galway we had to take a “placement test” and were assigned to different classes, according to our level of English. Throughout the next two weeks, we attended classes before and after lunch, usually starting at about 9 am and ending at 5 pm (with two breaks in-between). From my point of view, the English lessons were very beneficial, especially in terms of improving my English speaking skills. We did a lot of fun speaking exercises and also extended our vocabulary on various topics like cars, food or law.

+ meet many people from different countries

In the course of my two weeks in Ireland I met students from Spain, Brazil, Russia and Italy and I am still in contact with some of them.

+ get to know locals

Concerning accommodation, we were given two options – we could either stay at a youth residence together with all the other language students or we could stay with a host family. I think everybody has to decide for themselves what suits them best. However, personally I would recommend the latter. I chose to stay with a host family and I gained some precious insight into the life of a “modern Irish women”. My host mother was a single mum and even though she did not spend too much time with her “host children” (I stayed at her house together with a Spanish and an Italian girl), she was really nice, told some interesting stories and would help us solve any kind of problem. Another advantage was that I was forced to speak English, while in a students' residence I would probably have met some German speaking people and would have spoken German to them.

+ afternoon activities

After class we could participate in organized activities, like for example going to the movies, bowling, seeing a Greyhound race or party in a disco on the campus. Admittedly, the disco was not what one would have expected by Austrian standards, since no alcohol was sold there and it closed at about 11 pm, but still it was a lot of fun, especially because the hot-blooded students from Italy and Spain showed off some amazing dance moves.

+ weekend trips

On the weekends some optional trips to sights like Bunratty Castle, the Cliffs of Moher or the Aran Islands were offered. If you ever visit Galway, a trip to the Aran Islands is an absolute must! They lie just off the West Coast of Ireland in Galway Bay. Exploring one of the islands by bicycle is a great opportunity to take in the typical Irish landsacape consisting of green meadows, low stone walls and sheep. Also, it is an amazing experience to stand on top of the steep cliffs and look down at the rough sea. In addition, visitors of the Aran Islands can get a taste of the traditional Celtic culture, since Irish is the main language spoken on the islands and the rugged natural beauty and thatched cottages really take you back to Ireland in Celtic times.

Sleeping Bear Dunes

In 2012 I visited some distant relatives who live in Michigan, more precisely in Traverse City, which is located on the “pinky and ring finger of Michigan” (if you imagine Michigan as a hand). Since one of my relatives had worked as a ranger in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore before he retired, my relatives took me to some extraordinary places in this area.

The National Park’s name derives from a Native American legend about two small islands that are located in lake Michigan, close to the shore of the National Park. According to the legend, a mother bear and her two cubs had to flee from a raging forest fire and as a result they were forced to swim across lake Michigan. The bears swam for many hours and eventually the two cubs became tired and slowed down. When mother bear finally reached the shore, she was very worried and desperately waited for her cubs to appear. However, the cubs were too tired to continue and drowned not far from the shore. The Great Spirit Manitou created two islands to mark the spot where the cubs drowned and a single sand dune to mark the place where their mother had been waiting for them.

In the course of a week I was given chance to explore this NP and I visited several memorable places, most of which are located at the shore of lake Michigan. It was amazing to stand in the yellowish, warm sand, looking at the light blue sky and seeing the sun’s reflection in the clear blue water. I was gazing towards the horizon, unable to spot the opposite shoreline.  

If any of you ever gets the chance to visit this part of Michigan, take it! Climb on the edge of a sand dune, enjoy the view, revel in the moment and experience the perfect mix of clear, blue water, golden sand, immense dunes, bluffs  and green forest.

You can find more information about the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on this website:

http://www.nps.gov/slbe/index.htm