I am back!

I am finally back in the USA! It is great to be back... although I have been keeping busy each moment. Lol. Here are just some pictures from Ireland and Scotland--> my last trip that I took while in Europe. Both were so amazing and pretty, you'll see why. Enjoy!!!!!

Ireland:

Scotland:

Spring Break Stories

*First off... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!!!! Hope you have a great day filled with love! Make sure after work (if you are working) you take time to relax and enjoy yourself. Love you!

Second... I AM ALIVE! I was in Rome during the earthquake but luckily (for us) we were 60 miles away from L'Aquila (the center of the earthquake). It was pretty scary, it woke me up and everything was shaking! I just hope that those who are safe are helping those who lost everything. So sad.

Spring break was great!!!!! Had a lot of fun! Saw The Lion King, went to: Pisa, Florence, Venice, and Rome, saw Wicked, went to an ice bar, hung around London, and yeah. It was great. Got to see a lot of amazing things too! There is so much that I don't even know where to start!!! So I think I will just put up some pictures from each place....

SPRING BREAK

Has officially started!!!!

I will be leaving tomorrow morning (3/28) at 5am to go pick up my friend Justine from the airport. Then things will get crazy!!!!! I will be taking my laptop because my teacher insists that if we want a good grade in his class then we must work on papers during the break. Ugh. Although it looks like I'm coming back early the day before classes start... so I might just not take it... Don't want to risk it, you know? Well anyways... the plan goes like this

Sat (3/28): Pick Justine up! Head over to the place we are staying. Get some dinner and see The Lion King!!!!
Sun (3/29): Switch to another place (Has better access to a bus service for the airport). Go sight seeing or whatever Justine wants to do while in London. Go to an ice bar... Yes... That is right... A bar made completely out of ice! Friend of mine have gone and said it is AMAZING! After that... probably sleep!
Mon (3/30): Wake up early! Catch a bus to the airport and FLY TO ITALY!!!!!! We will land in Pisa... so of course we have to go over to the Leaning Tower!!!!! Then we will get a train/ bus to Florence and check into the place we will be staying at.
Tues (3/31): Tour around Florence!!!!
Wed (4/1): Tour around Florence some more! My friend from this trip (Lindsey) will meet us in Florence later that night and we will take a train to Venice and check in to the place we will stay while there!!
Thurs (4/2): Tour around Venice!!!!
Fri (4/3): We will take a train down to Rome.... and check in to the place we will be staying while there...
Sat (4/4): Tour around Rome or possible day trip to Pompei!!!!!
Sun (4/5): Tour around Rome!!!!!
Mon (4/6): Fly back to London, check into the place we will be staying at, and see Wicked!!!
Tues (4/7): Say goodbye to Justine.... Take train back to Bath.

Oh my!!!! Crazy week ahead! But I think it will be lovely! I am really excited for everything we will be doing and super excited to see Justine! I made her a sign for when I pick her up at the airport... want to see??? Here it is....



Think she will like it? I couldn't think of what to put on it (besides her name) so it has a bunch of randomness on it. Lol... Still pretty sweet though!

Okay... well more later! And of course LOTS of pictures when I get back!

Love love
~Sar Bear

So this week--> the world stops...

The Killers: Goodnight, Travel Well

"...My spirit moans with a sacred pain/ And it's quiet now/ The universe is standing still/ There's nothing I can say/ There's nothing we can do now/ There's nothing I can say/ There's nothing we can do now/ And all that stands between the souls release/ This temporary flesh and bone..."

This song has been my favorite song for a few weeks now.... Same with another song... by The Fray called You Found Me. You can look up the lyrics to that song if you wish.

To those who do not know why my world has stopped... This past week has been very emotional for me. I feel like everything is hitting me from every side. I feel homesick, I'm missing you all back home, my lovely sister is sick and I'm not there to help her, school is kicking my butt, I am constantly traveling (takes a lot out of you), I have so much to plan for spring break still (NEXT WEEK), and yesterday my grandpa died. The hardest part about my grandfather's death is that I am MILES AND MILES away from anyone who loves me and understands. Death is never an easy thing to deal with and it never comes at a good time (for no one ever wants a loved one to die)... But to be away from ALL of you during this makes it feel that much harder to deal with. Makes me feel that much more alone throughout it all. I am struggling this week a lot. I'm trying to figure out what this all means--> does it even have a meaning? Can death ever be explained? Why people suffer under love... Even with God, some things just don't make sense. But I am glad that my grandpa is in a better place and no longer in pain. That is what really matters.

I called my dad yesterday... It was exactly what I needed to hear. As my dad explained how my grandpa died, nothing else was real. I broke down in the middle of a store and just cried (luckily I had a friend there with me to support me). As my dad told me, he had just given my grandpa a pain killer because he was in a lot of pain. After he took the painkiller, they looked at photo albums of the family. My dad said that he was so happy looking at all the pictures and hearing stories about the family. It was after that when he closed his eyes to sleep and passed away. I am so happy that he died happy and peacefully. I am also so grateful that I had called my dad (on skype) a week or so earlier because I got to see my grandpa. Thanks to skype I was able to say hi to my grandpa and tell him I loved him... We all loved him very much. And all I can do is keep him in my heart and honor him by my actions. I am happy that I was his grandchild and that he was a big part of my life.

Speaking of family... I did go to Denmark last weekend. Went back to to the homeland (well one of them) were part of my family comes from. It was nice. I went there to visit my friend Heidi. It was great to see her and have a nice relaxing weekend. We watched movies, want to a castle that holds so much of Denmark's history, and then watched more movies! Haha. We tried to do homework, but it was hard to do. It was a great weekend though! It was just what I needed and it was cool to be in the land of my ancestors--> even if I didn't go to actual places where they lived :-(

Coming back from Denmark was scary! Okay... On my way to Denmark, the boarder control there was chill. The guy told me that my FULL name is Danish (Sarah Elizabeth Christiansen). He asked if I could speak Danish, when I told him no he just kind of laughed. I want to learn how to speak it now! After hearing Heidi and her family speak it, I don't kow if I could though. Seems really hard! Anyways... coming back was totally different. Basically the UK hates people who travel. The guys told me that because this would be my 4th stamp for England, I became questionable. So I had to show him my school papers and everything--> which he told me did not help for nothing on there helped tell him that I was for sure leaving the UK to go back to America. HELLO! It is called family and friends!!!! Oh well... he "let me go this time" but said I could have serious trouble next time. UGH! So I had to talk to my teachers about it who talked to the main lady (Mari) about it. Mari said that they can't refuse me entrance into the UK because I have a certain number of stamps or even if the stamps are in a short period of time. I have a right to travel about as I wish (as long as I can pay for it). But now I am scared to leave the country! Ugh. I go to Exactly in a week and a half... so we will see what happens upon my return!

---> one on the left is ice wine (GREAT sweet wine)!

So yeah... there is my life so far. I will put some random pictures below from St. Patty's Day and to this castle my class went to last Thursday. This weekend I am staying in and just relaxing and writing papers. I think I need it! Hope you all are doing ok back home. Know my heart is with you through this all! Please keep my informed on what is being planned.

I love you all... so much!