Eurotrip!

Yodele Yodele Yodele He Hoo! That's right, I made it to Zurich! The country of chocolate and neutrality.
My flight over was one of the worst I've ever experienced. I sat in the first row of coach where I could secretly envy first class and give them the stink eye. Where first class had 1 attendant for every 10 people, we had 1 for every 40. Ridiculous. Of course, there were no personalized TVs, so I sat watching some PG rated, semi-animated, awkward George Clooney movie called 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'. Then, they didn't have me listed as vegetarian nor did they have any extra vegetarian meals, but the flight attendant didn't seem too concerned. She just told me I wouldn't have anything to eat for 8 hours. Awesome. And then of course, no sleep. I was up all night, hungry, cold, tired, irritated at some low-budget indie film and not smelling too hot. Ah traveling...you can be a real slap in the face sometimes.
But Zurich finally arrived and after 7 complicated hours at the airport, my family and I all found each other. We made our way to Friedrichshafen on the edge of Lake Constance in Germany and settled into our high end hotel. Everyone was super jetlagged so we took it pretty easy. I think my parents are in shock as to how much coffee I drink.
Things that are delicious in Germany: chocolate, beer, bread, jam, and pretzels. Things that are gross: sausage in all its form, mustard (but that's gross everywhere), sparkling water, and the lack of spices. There is also a definite lack of veggies not in the form of a salad eaten in Germany. I hate salad. It's like eating crunchy water.
But its been great so far! My family and I are...pushing through the hours. Here is a quick overview of the personality types in my family:

My Father: must always be in motion or asleep; must have his full knowledge of everyone's plans for the day; likes to pet other people's dogs, even when in a different country; can't go anywhere without a plan.

My Mother: very disclipined woman and wakes up every morning at 6.00 AM even when jetlagged; loves rum raisin ice cream; tends to fall in love with an idea and doesn't let it go until it comes true; can't go anywhere without a plan.

My Sister: never disturb the beast when sleeping; enjoys high-end fashion; likes waking up at a leisurely hour; can't go on vacation with a plan, whiling the day away is half the fun.

Me: beautiful, striking, charming, german-speaking girl; finds herself caught admist a deuling family.

So, avid fans, you can see where a few points of contention might be. Oh well, we all hug and make up at the end of the day.

Zurich and Germany have been great. Lots of fun with some good family memories.

But, we all miss the spices.

Empire State of Mind

I'm in New York! The big apple! The place where anything and everything goes. I love this city.
After my long bus ride, I finally arrived in one of my favorite cities. Reese met up with me on 30th and Park only to find me almost falling over with the amount of luggage I had. Her new place is....nice...for Urbana-Champaign standards. I miss her old apartment across from Penn Station, on the 26th floor, with an incredible view of the city. But this place has quite the view too. She lives out on Murray Hill, also known as Curry Hill because of all the Indians, and if I can tell you one thing about my feelings on NY it's: I could easily live here.
The noise, the smells, the traffic, the lights, the buildings...I've never seen a city that rivals NY as a true American city. Everyone walks around like THEY own the sidewalk but surprisingly New Yorkers are so nice. Just don't get in their way.
I spent most of my time lazing around watching the Top Chef Marathon on Bravo! (side note: Top Chef is in DC this season! Out of all times...just my luck!), but it was nice to relax. The past few weeks have been super stressful, so it was great to kick back and just do nothing. We ate at some delicious places: Five Points and Chelsea Market (in the meat packing district, who knew they served vegetarians!). You just can't beat city food. Side stalls, street vendors, hole in the wall places, hidden markets that make real Italian Bruschetta...loved it. Then we walked around the highline and watched the sunset. It would have been very romantic if I hadn't been there with my sister.
Reese also took me out to some really cool bars, very 1920s as though we were immeresed in the Prohibition Act. You actually had to ring a doorbell to get into one of them! Oh NY, what will you think of next? But this city does come at a price, I don't even want to tell you how much money I've spent in 1.5 days...

Ah New York...we'll see each other again soon. So after 1.5 days of living here I'm proud to say...'I'm a New Yorker!' Now get out of my way!

And We're Off!

At 1.30 PM Eastern time, I officially began my trip by catching the megabus out to NY from DC.

I look like a fool. But that's everything I'll need for the next 4 months!

The bus ride was fine, but the one thing I will say is: I HATE traffic. It was such a tease. I could see the skyline of NY, smell the city's glory, but couldn't get through that stupid Lincoln Tunnel for 45 minutes. Oh well, that's the price you pay for a real city.

The week I spent at home before the start was great. There is nothing like coming home. You put your dishes in the sink and somehow, they get washed. If you throw a shirt in the laundry, its washed, dried and folded on the dryer. It's like magic house elves come and do the work before you can even see them. Seeing my pups, Hercules and Goliath, was quite exciting too. I've missed their personalities so much. First we have Goliath as a man's man who always walks on the outside of the street, eats without manners and protects me from unassuming bumble bees. While Hercules indulges my lazy side by watching TV, sleeping until 12, and stopping to sniff the roses every 15 feet. I've got the man and the guy (get it Nat? :) ).

But, best of all was the food at home. It's tough being a traveling vegetarian, but when I come home, I definitely make up for it. I can safely say I've gained a few pounds from all the dal, naan, pav bhaji, and chutney I ate this week. But who cares, hopefully I'll lose it when I get to Southeast Asia where their idea of vegetarian includes eating chicken.

So here we go beloved followers! Get ready! It's going to be a bumpy ride!

Side Note:
I recently purchased a pair of Vibram Five Fingers: KSO. Here's what they look like:

If you scroll up, you can see me wearing them in the picture above. You actually squeeze your toes into each individual section. Really interesting feeling for the first week. They are made for a new type of running, barefoot running, and are meant for almost any use (i.e. light trekking, swimming, walking). I went running with them one night and I actually really enjoyed it. The sole provided really good traction and it had just rained earlier that day too! They are really lightweight, which is why I'm taking these shoes as opposed to running shoes, and actually pretty cool looking (contrary to Reese's hoity toity NY opinion). I love these new shoes!

Quick Update

For those of my more visual readers, here is a map overview of my route.

Only 5 days until the big day...

Graduation + Packing

On Sunday, May 16th at 4.30 PM Central Time, I officially became a University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Engineering Alum. Honestly, I can't believe it's over. I can't believe I won't be doing the 13 hour drive back to campus this fall, or eating at Subway for every meal where they have nicknamed me the 'veggie sub girl', or sleeping in the lab waiting for my code to finish running...it's all over. No more all nighters, no more 3 hour exams with only 5 questions, no more getting lost in cornfields on my walk home.
It's sad, but my last week on campus was great. Definitely one for the books (or should I say 'blogs'!...man I crack myself up).
My sister and parents came down on Friday to help me move out and for graduation. After the family time with my parents (i.e. pictures around the university and good family fun), My sister and I tore it up urbana-champaign style. This means house parties where the hygiene of the house is very questionable, going out in flip flops and an 'Illini' hoodie and calling it fashionable, Hawaiian punch as our cocktail, and paying $15 for 4 drinks. I took my sister to some of the nicest bars in downtown champaign which rivaled New York's trashiest and we had a great time.
Saturday rolled around and as my mother prepped herself at the hair salon, the rest of us packed up my dusty old house in Urbana.

I'm having a great time at 812 W Stoughton

Later, ate delicious deep dish pizza at Papa Del's and went back to their hotel. Reese (my sister) and I took the bars of UIUC in for the last time. Went out dancing and she finally got to see Green Street.
Finally, Sunday, my big day, rolled around. Let's just say that this day revolved around food. We went to the President of UIUC, President Ikenberry, house for breakfast.

Reese and I at 812.

I think all of my college tuition went to paying for that ice sculpture.

After getting ready for my big world trip, preparing for my family and worrying about packing, I forgot about the one thing I'd be losing out of all this: UIUC. So I cried as I walked into Siebel Computer Science center one last time for my graduation brunch while my Dad fell asleep at the brunch table. After breakfast and second breakfast, we made our way to graduation. The only thing I really remember is the head of the Computer Science department walking up to the podium and saying:

'Dean Adesidea, I present to you the Computer Science graduating class of 2010. These are the best engineers in the world.'

After more tears and pictures, we ate dinner at my roommate's restaurant and sat around the table while my sister riddled us with brain teasers.

See my engineering skills at work? I'm thinking hard about the brain teaser written on the table... (like I said, everything revolved around food)

My Dad and I. Yea! Last in the family to graduate!

Everything else after that was kind of a blur. Packing went pretty smoothly and I ate my last meal at Lai Lai Wok on Green Street. Best Chinese food I've ever had. Drove to Chicago for a couple days to visit a friend and then made the painful 13 hour drive back to Virginia.
Like I said, I really can't believe it's over. But I'm really happy I chose UIUC. I look great in orange.

My World Trip

After what feels like 4 endless years, I've graduated college. Yay! But, forget about the congratulations, the better question is: how can I reward myself?
Over the past 4 years I've spent every summer interning at a different engineering company. Lexmark, Expedia and finally Microsoft. I was the girl who brought her lunch to work everyday to save money. And now here I am, 4 years later and what to do with my savings? I could blow all $8,000 on a new Chanel bag (ahem...Reese...). Or I could continue my traveling expeditions with the ultimate Oneworld Explorer Ticket!

In short, my ticket consists of:
-16 flights in one direction (this is with respect to continents, I can move in any direction on 1 continent)
-The Atlantic and Pacific oceans must be crossed once
-4 continents (North America, Europe, Asia, South America)
-Dates of flights can be changed without fees, but my route must stay the same

Here's a quick overview of where I'll be traveling to:
-DC->NY
-NY->Zurich
-Zurich->Vienna
-Vienna->London
-London->Tel Aviv
-Tel Aviv->Amman
-Amman->Bangkok
-Bangkok->Delhi
-Delhi->Kathmandu
-Kathmandu->Hong Kong
-Hong Kong->Singapore
-Singapore->Tokyo
-Tokyo->Sao Paulo
-Sao Paulo->Lima
-Lima->Buenos Aires
-Buenos Aires->NY
-NY->DC
But, like I said, this is a quick overview. I'm sure there will be more stops along the way (i.e. Indonesia, Cairo...) but we can worry about that when the time comes.

A lot of my readers might be asking themselves "Why don't you invest this money into gold or the stock market? (*Indian accent*)". But the truth is, I'll have the rest of my life to worry about saving money, working, and all the obligations of the real world. Before I know it, I'll be paying a mortgage, car insurance, health insurance, saving money in my 401K...and once that starts, it's difficult to put your life on hold and run off to explore the world. Lets face it, I'll never be in the situation again. I'm 22, recently graduated from a world renowned engineering university (UIUC), have my dream job at Microsoft, have no obligations and am still on my parents budget. This is the good life.
Sure, I'm probably the daughter who puts the most gray hair on my parents head, but in my defense, they really should have seen this coming. Apparently, when I was young, I used to crawl into their bed with a globe and ask about countries around the world. I even asked if we could move to Egypt (obviously, my request held no weight). So now, 17 years later, after 2 study abroads in Germany and Thailand, I find myself in a similar mindset as when I was 5. I guess somethings never change.

Long story short, I'm super excited for this trip. Stay tuned for more...