Although I've witnessed very little violence while being in Northern Ireland, it's still difficult to ignore the reality of where we are. Northern Ireland's violence and contested history is painted on walls, depicted in monuments and simply talked about wherever we go.

Grüsse aus Hamburg! Wir sind die Semester halbweg Punkt durchgegangen! Nach drei Monate in Deutschland, glaube ich, ist es Zeit, ein paar Gedanken, Bemerkungen, und Reflexionen zu geben. Ich habe auch Emily Rath und Chris Barr gefragt, ihre Gedanken über unsere Erfahrung zu geben.

I wish I had enough time to sit down and explain in detail everything that I've experienced on this trip. Unfortunately I don't have enough time to do that, and even if I did have enough time, it'd be impossible. It's Saturday night and we are leaving at seven in the morning to catch our flight. Part of me wants to stay up and experience as much of Derry as I can, and the other part wants to sleep because I'm extremely exhausted. This past week was packed full of lectures and excursions, but the most memorable excursion was to Giants Causeway today. I could use words like magnificent, incredible, indescribable, but still.... none of those describe what it was like. I'm literally at a loss of words. So I'll post some pictures, which still don't do it justice, but will perhaps explain it more.

It's so hard for me to finally accept that I am no longer in Athens. In fact, I've been putting off writing this blog just because of that reason. Alas, my time in Athens did indeed come to an end and I will forever be greatful for the opportunities and memories that I experienced there.

Wow, it's been a while. I am down to three days in my beloved Sydney and it just doesn't feel real. I walked around the city today, taking pictures of things I had missed, checking out some shops and enjoying the city atmosphere. It feels so weird that in a few days I won't be able to walk to the city. I'm upset ... but I'm not that upset ... it all just doesn't seem real yet.

Well, I have officially left Australia. Sorry I didn't get a chance to add pictures or write one last post before leaving - like the rest of my Australian adventure, my last few days were incredibly busy.

I'm posting now from a hostel in New Zealand right by the Franz Joseph Glacier. I'm not sure if I really mentioned it before, but Becca and I had decided to rent a car and spend a few weeks traveling around the south island of New Zealand. Tomorrow, we're spending the day hiking on Fox Glacier, just a short drive down the road.

OK, so I guess I'll be posting a little more often now. There's not too terribly much to do in these places after dark, so popping onto the computer for a few minutes is always nice.

So, Mother Nature threw a few wrenches into our plans today, beginning with some snow this morning.

Due to the limited computer and Internet access in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, I was unable to blog about my experience during my stay. But I kept a diary of everything I did and took several pictures while I was there to update everyone on my experience once I got back home. I got back a couple of days ago and I am happy to share my adventures with all of you. :)

A group of students took the bus along with our professors from Bucknell to the JFK airport in New York. We took the bus early Wednesday, June 4, at 1:30 a.m., to be exact. Many of us didn't sleep, we waited for the time to leave to sleep on the bus. The ride over was bumpy. It was raining and so it was a bumpy ride to New York, but we made it to the airport on time, safe and sound.

Moin Moin noch einmal! In drei Tagen habe ich nur noch einen Monat in Deutschland! Schwer zu glauben, aber es gibt keinen Zweifel, dass es schnell gehen wird. Wie immer ist seit meinenm letzten Blog viel passiert:

I've had several fun-filled days since my last update. I can't believe I've been in New Zealand for seven days already. It seems like we've been here for ages. I can't believe that just a week ago I was still in Sydney and just a couple of weeks ago I was up at the Great Barrier Reef. Becca and I were looking through Australia pictures a few hours ago and looking at the really old ones, like from orientation, was so bizarre. In some ways, it seems like it was only yesterday that we were in Sorrento - I can still remember everything so vividly. But on the other hand, so much has happened since then, and it seems like it's been much longer than four and a half months. But back to New Zealand...