Beyond Baylor: Adjusting to Life as an Alumna

We graduated last Saturday. On to our next adventure!

I never realized how hard it would be to leave the university that I had grown to love. I take after my father, and I am usually eager to jump to the next chapter of my life. With Baylor, however, I don't want to let go. My heart breaks every time I remember that I will never have class on Baylor's beautiful campus again.

I suspect that part of my difficulty in letting go lies in the process of packing away our apartment. I love to move from one place to another, another trait that I received from my father. However, with the 15 times that I have moved in my life, I have always detested the process of packing. I even despise packing for travel. It is one of the few things in life that I procrastinate. This time, I have actually done a fairly good job of packing ahead of time, but the closer it gets to the date we move, the less I want to finish the process. Perhaps it is because a part of me wants to stay, and I feel like when I done packing, our move is a done deal. 

With my family after graduation.

The best part about moving to Dallas is being close to my family. Even though they currently live two hours away, we haven't been able to see each other much since Chris and I got married. I recently saw them for the first time in four months, after studying abroad in Europe. We are going to be living about 30 minutes away from my parents so it will be nice to meet them up for dinner without a four-hour roundtrip.

Chris and I next to the beautiful Pat Neff hall.

Even though we are leaving Baylor at the end of this month, I plan to come back as much as possible. I can't wait for Chris and I to attend Homecoming, basketball and football games and other events as alumni. Baylor is where Chris and I met, fell in love and got married at the beautiful Armstrong Browning Library. Baylor is forever weaved into our lives, even when we are not physically on campus. 

All the Glamour and Glitz: Viewing Versailles

We just got back from Carnaval celebrations so I thought I would do a quick entry on our trip to Versailles.

On Sunday, before we left Paris, we took the RER to Versailles. It was definitely worth the trip. Versailles is absolutely gorgeous. I loved all the decorations inside (It is interesting how the king’s room is the least ornate — I guess since no one else was meant to see it?) 

I thought the grounds were just as impressive as the building. The parks and The Grand Canal were beautiful. I can only imagine how they would look in the summer!

Tomorrow afternoon, we leave on a night train to Prague. I’m excited for our first night train experience.

I might try to post an entry about Brussels tomorrow, but I have a lot of homework to get finished before we leave for the week so it might not happen.

Anyway, since photographs are worth a thousand words, here are a few from our trip to Versailles.

Chris at the Versailles doors.

It's so beautiful.

Me at the Hall of Mirrors

Absolutely beautiful parks

Part of a chapel.

Chris decided to put a crown on my head.

In Love in the City Known for It: Our Valentine's Day Weekend in Paris

I apologize for not writing about my weekends lately. I have developed what I have affectionately nicknamed “the gunk.” I was sick a few weeks ago and Chris caught it.

Chris has been sick since before we left for Munich and still hasn’t gotten better so I ended up catching it from him again. Now we are both sick. Hopefully we will get better soon since Carnaval break starts tomorrow and we will be traveling for a week straight!

Anyway, enough about the gunk. On to more interesting things- like our trip to Paris.

Going to Paris was an absolute dream come true. I have been wanting to go to Paris [and France in general] since I first started learning French as a 12-year-old. Nine years later, there I was, taking in the beautiful architecture in this spectacular city.

La Tour d'Eiffel <3

The trip couldn’t have been more perfect. Paris met all my expectations and then some. What a beautiful, amazing city with so much history. I was in love.

On Thursday night, Chris and I took the Thalys train to Paris. Once we got settled into our wonderful hotel, we went to a great restaurant called Bistro de Breteuil.

Side note: Did you know that “bistro” is actually a Russian word? During a war, Russian soldier would go into French cafes and say “bistro,” which means “be quick!” in Russian. Thus, French cafes started putting up the word “bistro” in front of their cafes so that the Russian soldiers would know it is a place for a quick bite. Interesting how it caught on and is now all over!

The food at Bistro de Bretuil was delicious. We ordered off a “prix fixe” menu, which included an apéritif, bottle of wine for two, entrée, plat and dessert. I even tried escargots! (Those who know me know that I am hesitant to try new food.) Everything tasted great, especially my crème brûlée. As Chris put it, “it was the best crème brûlée ever!”

Afterward, we took a walk around the city at night. It was absolutely spectacular.

The next day, we took a free tour around Paris. Our tour guide told us all about the history of France’s most powerful city. I have learned about French history in my US History and French classes so it was amazing to see all of the historically important buildings. The 3.5-hour tour took us all along the banks of the River Seine from Notre Dame to the Louvre, the Palais Royale, the Grand and Petit Palais, the Tuileries Garden, the New Bridge and ended near Invalides.

Me at the Jardin Tuileries

Afterward, we went on the Champs-Élysées to shop and see the Arc de Triomphe. Then Chris took me on a night river cruise on the Seine River. It was amazing to cruise down the river while the Eiffel Tower was doing its light show and all of the other buildings were brilliantly lit.

Me at the Champs-Élysées

The weather on our first day in Paris was beautiful- we didn't even need jackets! It was about 60 degrees and Parisians told me that it was the first beautiful day they had had in months! 

Amazing Sunset

The next day, we went to see the beautiful churches, Notre Dame and Sacré Coeur. The view of Paris from Sacré Coeur was amazing. The church is located on a hill, and though the steps weren’t too fun, the view was definitely worth it.

Sacred Heart Church

The Notre Dame was beautiful on both the inside and outside. The stained glass windows inside were breathtaking.

Chris at Notre Dame

Stained glass windows at Notre Dame

We also went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, which was a really neat experience. If you can’t tell already, I adored this city. We also walked to the Opera House to see it up close and ate some pastries at a patisserie nearby. I love patisseries- so many delicious desserts in one place!

Us at the top of the Eiffel Tower

We tried to go to the Louvre, but we got there an hour before it closes, and apparently you can’t get tickets that late. It’s okay because we are meeting Chris’s parents in Paris in two weeks so we can see it then!

Me at the Louvre

I was so grateful for the opportunity to speak French all the time. I have been taking French in school for almost 10 years now, but I rarely have the chance to talk to native speakers. It was so exciting to see that French people understood me, and that I was able to keep lengthy conversations going in Paris. 

Egyptian obelisk and Eiffel Tower at Sunset

 Well, I feel like this blog entry has already become too long so I will write a separate entry about Versailles tomorrow. We are taking day trips this weekend. Tomorrow we are going to Bruges (in Belgium). Friday we are planning on going to a city in The Netherlands, possibly Rotterdam or Utrecht, and on Saturday we are planning on visiting Amsterdam!

We are also done with school now for a week because we get a Carnaval break! During Carnaval, we are headed to Prague, Vienna and Switzerland. I will keep y’all informed about our adventures!

Love,

Olga 

Mind The Gap: Our Adventures in London

Hello friends, 

I am going to try to keep this as brief as I can since it is past midnight here in Maastricht. London was amazing. I loved navigating the tube, talking to Londoners, and exploring the beautiful architecture in the city.

Some highlights of our trip were:

1) Seeing Wicked! I have seen many musicals in my life, and this one was by far the best. The singing was phenomenal, and I absolutely loved the story. Plus, we had amazing seats that were originally 90 pounds. I could go on and on about how great this experience was.

2) Bath. I loved everything about the city. The Roman baths were so fascinating, the Bath Abbey was gorgeous, and we found a great patisserie for lunch! I could definitely live in Bath.

Chris at the Roman Baths

Me at the Roman Baths

3) Going to an organ concert at the Westminster Abbey. To be honest, we were all a little tired when we went to the concert and had to leave early so we wouldn't fall asleep, but it was still a lot of fun to attend a cultural event.

4) The jewelry at the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was magnificent. I wouldn't mind having that collection! Haha.

5) The Twinings Store! I had so much fun looking at all of the tea and bought a ton to bring home with me.

6) The English countryside. I was never bored on the bus ride from London to Stonehenge and Bath because the English countryside is so beautiful. Here is a photo so you can get an idea:

Things that surprised me while in England:

1) I don't know if this is just a matter of timing, but we seemed to hear just as many people speaking French as English. I guess maybe a lot of people from France visit since it is so close?

2) How quick the tube is, especially compared to New York City. I love the London tube. It is so efficient.

3) Our amazing breakfast. Our hotel had a huge breakfast buffet, definitely the best I have ever had for free. It was glorious.

4) I LOVED fish and chips. This surprised me because I don't really like fish, French fries, or anything fried.

5) We actually had two beautiful days with no rain and blue skies while in London. The sun even came out while we were at Stonehenge, though it was raining by the time we got to Bath.

6) I learned that the city of London is only one square mile. Most of the famous sites are actually in Westminster.

Things I wasn't crazy about:

1) The London Eye. I guess maybe because everyone talked it out to be amazing. I just didn't think it was worth the money. The free 4D experience show that came with it was almost cooler than the actual ride.

2) Our hotel location. It wasn't anywhere near the big sites. Hence, I grew to love the tube.

3) Billy Elliot. This was the musical we all saw as a group. The little boy's dancing was amazing. That is just about the only good thing I can say. To give you an idea, the plot is that a little boy decides he prefers ballet to boxing.

Some quintessential London tourist pictures for our families to see:

At the Tower Bridge

Chris with the Tower Bridge

Us at Stonehenge. It was really neat to see it!

In front of Big Ben

Chris and Big Ben

Westminster Abbey

Me in front of Westminster Abbey

We got back yesterday and had orientation most of the day today. I will try to write about it tomorrow when the rest of orientation is over. Other than that, we are planning our first weekend trip for next weekend. As of now, we are planning on going to Berlin with a stop in Cologne. 

Love, 

Olga

Note to Self: Learn Dutch

Hello friends,

I just woke up in the middle of the night to finish packing for London, but I wanted to write a quick note to say that Chris and I have made it to beautiful Maastricht after about 14 hours of travel.

Here are a few quick observations about Maastricht and The Netherlands from my first few hours here:

1) The Dutch language really loves double letters. Chris spent the bus on the way to Maastricht counting the number of road signs without double letters. There weren't that many.

2) The Dutch idea of a "short walk" and the American idea of a "short walk" is very different. I love to walk places so it is not a problem, but the experience of walking 10 minutes with bags full of groceries will definitely be interesting.

3) Speaking of grocery stores, we went on a "practical shopping tour" this afternoon, and the place we went to was kinda like an HEB and the dollar store meets the mall. It was huge with two super markets and lots of random stores. My friends who had been to Maastricht told me that you have to bag your own groceries and bring your own bags, (you can pay 22 euro cents per bag if you want one there) but it was still an interesting experience. You have to bag them really quickly since they are already checking out someone else while you are bagging.

4) When they said that The Netherlands has more bikes per capita than any other country in the world, they weren't kidding. There are bikes EVERYWHERE. I will take a few pictures of their bike racks so that y'all can get a better idea. Apparently, the cars stop for you as a pedestrian, but the bikes don't. [sounds a lot like Baylor.]

5) Speaking of cars, all the cars here are tiny, which is interesting because Dutch people, in general, are tall. Chris told me that The Netherlands has the tallest average height in the world. Gas is really expensive though so I am guessing the tiny cars get more miles per gallon.

6) There are signs everywhere that says "100% Bop. 0% Op." I tried to google it, and it looks like an anti-drinking campaign, possibly? Everything was in Dutch so I am not entirely sure.

7) Our dorms are nice. Way bigger than I expected, and there is a stovetop.

Outline of our day:

We arrived in Amsterdam at 8 in the morning and got on a bus to Maastricht. On the way there, we stopped at the Dutch equivalent of a rest stop restaurant, but it was a slightly different experience. The food was all set out, and you could just grab whatever you wanted and head to the cashier. The problem was that everything was in Dutch, and none of the food looked familiar. Chris stuck with a sandwich because he knew what it was. I got what I thought was a pecan strudel but actually turned out to be a very good meat pie.

When we arrived to Maastricht, we validated our EurRail passes, and then it was on to Teikyo. Our dorm is interesting because it is a combination of an emergency clinic and a dorm. The bottom level has doctors offices and patient rooms, and a separate wing has dorm rooms. After we got our rooms, we went on the practical shopping tour. Chris and I bought a few essentials to hold us over until we return from London. After shopping, we unpacked and then went to dinner, where we had potatoes and chicken, which was delicious.

I passed out after dinner, but Chris went to go get our internet set up. Apparently, if you think AirBear is bad, UniMaas is way more difficult because even with help, it took an hour to get our internet set up.

I already love Maastricht. Dutch people are so nice (and I love their accents when they speak English!) I love the architecture, and the weather today was wonderful.

I will post some photos of our home for the next three months once we are back from London.

Love from The Netherlands,
Olga

In Six Days, Europe is My Playground.

Six days.

In less than a week from today, I will be on a plane to Amsterdam.

I still don’t have much packed. Pretty much wishing my suitcases would pack themselves.

For those who aren’t familiar with the Baylor in Maastricht program, Maastricht is a city in the southern tip of the Netherlands, about 30 minutes from Belgium to the west and close to Germany to the east. Our program includes a EurRail pass, which allows for train travel around Europe. We only go to school from Feb. 7 to Mar. 31, with a weeklong break for Carnival. We also don’t have classes on Fridays so we can travel during our three-day weekends.

The pink dot is Maastricht, my future home for three months!

I can’t wait to explore Europe. I have been yearning to go back to Europe since I moved to the United States. I love everything about it — the public transportation, the slower pace of life, the absolutely gorgeous cities.

Everyone keeps asking me for a detailed itinerary for my trip. Truth is, I don’t really care. I just want to explore. I want to complete immerse myself in the culture. I know I want to go back to Switzerland. It was my favorite country that I have visited, and I still remember it clearly, even though the last time I was there, I was only six.

I know I want to see Paris, visit my aunt in Poland, visit Kim in Belgium and explore Italy. Other than that, who knows? For once in my life, I am extremely excited about not having plans. I can’t wait to make Europe my playground.  

Hello World!

One of my new years resolutions is to write more so today, I started two (yes, two) new blogs. This is going to be my personal blog, and pinkvalise.blogspot.com is going to be my travel rating blog.

This year is full of changes: I am studying abroad in the Netherlands for my final semester of college, and my husband and I are moving to Dallas once we graduate from Baylor University.

This is for friends and relatives to keep up with Chris and me while we are in the Netherlands and beyond.

For those who don't know me, here are a few things to take into account if you decide to read on:

I was born in Siberia- in Yakutsk, also known as the coldest habitable city in the world. I also lived in Kaliningrad, Russia. Russia is a huge part of who I am.

I live in Waco, Texas. I grew up in Plano, also known as the places where the heat sometimes makes me feel like a puddle.

I absolutely love the Lakers. I have ever since I moved here. I talk about them. a lot. I also love other sports, mostly college football and college basketball. I root for the Baylor Bears, my university, which can get interesting sometimes.

To explain my blog name, my initials were OMG before I got married so now I am OMG with a Ball added. :)

My husband Christopher of a year and a half is entertaining. Once, he broke our window by falling out of our bed. Life is never boring with him around.

I absolutely love to travel. I speak French and Russian fluently. I love people and love to immerse myself in different cultures.

I love writing and photography. I am still learning about photography and am not very good, but I will probably post some of my travel pictures on here for people to see.

I leave for the Netherlands on January 21st and will be there for 90 days. Included in the trip is a EurRail pass so I absolutely can't wait to explore Europe.

This blog is to document my next adventure.

Love,
Olga