Staying Local For College

Hello readers! Are you enjoying the Christmas season- there's been some snow falling here in Erie, so we are all prepared for a white Christmas with our winter wonderland!


As you know, I am from Erie and decided to stay here for college...while there were many factors in this decision, my family played a huge part in deciding to go to Mercyhurst. When I was making my decision, it was down to Mercyhurst and a school of the same size and nature in Cleveland but knowing that living in Erie would allow me to be near my family was a definite plus! I am happy that I have them so close because we often have family activities and functions and since I am so close, I am able to easily go home and see everyone whenever I want to or whenever something is going on!

Grandma's cake!

Today my entire family celebrated my great-grandma's 96th birthday!! I know, you're thinking wow, Lindsay has some good family genes- haha you're right! Other than some memory issues, she is in great condition and we are so happy to have her with us!

My family with great-grandma1

It was so much fun to have the family together and of course a wonderful event to celebrate! Although she jokingly told everyone that she is now 39 years old, 96 years old is quite remarkable!






While I am getting a different type of experience than others who have moved away from home for school, I am truly thankful that I made the decision to stay close to home. In evaluating what my priorities were, family was at the top of my list, thus making Mercyhurst so suitable. It is a great school, I am getting a top-notch education but I can also easily run home for a home-cooked meal, I can see my family at a moment's notice and I never have to miss out on special events- let's be honest, it's not every day that you get to attend a 96th birthday party! To those who are toying between a school close to home or one that is far away...carefully consider things that you could be missing out!

Four generations! My great-grandma, my papa, my mom and aunt and the cousins!

"Families are like fudge... mostly sweet with a few nuts."

Faculty Led Study Abroad Experience Opportunities- London and Paris!

Airplanes, suitcases, metro stations, fish and chips, the London Eye, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, baguettes, crepes...how's that sound for a Thanksgiving break! Somewhat unfortunately, I did not get a proper Thanksgiving break this year because I was traveling the entire break on a study abroad trip through Mercyhurst College.

Mercyhurst offers several different options for study abroad programs, a popular one being an entire 10-week term in Ireland...for those who do not want to be away for that long of a time, a shorter study abroad trip is available. All throughout fall term, I and a class of 29 students studied a history course on monarchs of England and France. During class we also prepared for the trip and learned about things that we would be seeing. At the end of the class, on the last day of finals, our group set out for London followed by Paris, then back to school in time for winter term to begin!

For more information on study abroad options here at Mercyhurst, check out the site!

Take a look at some of my favorite pictures, favorite moments from the trip!

Outside of Warde Hall, boarding the bus to head too Pittsburgh where we caught a plane to Atlanta and then to London!




We definitely saw a lot of William and Kate images- even in the Museum of London!




To the left is my first meal on the trip- the entire group ate together quite a few times, this was chicken and mushroom pie with mashed potatoes! A lot of the other students ate fish and chips that night, a very British dinner!




Speaking of food- our first breakfast was quite interesting! We walked into the room and we were quickly asked if we wanted a full English breakfast! Not knowing what it was or if there were any other options, we said ok! It turned out to be baked beans (we thought that was kind of weird!), a poached egg, ham and toast. Here I am with my coffee- not a typical coffee drinker but with our early mornings I learned to enjoy it!

Here I am outside of Windsor Castle- no pictures were allowed to be taken inside but I can assure you that the sites were absolutely beautiful and truly fit for royalty! It had my roommates and I thinking that we wouldn't mind it all that much if we were princesses ;)

As group, we ate at the Hard Rock London- it was actually the original Hard Rock Cafe!




On the last night, we all got to choose a Broadway show to see! Sarah and I saw Mamma Mia- it was fantastic and a great way to end our time in London!



Next stop: Paris! I was so so so excited to go to Paris because I took French in high school for four years and I was able to speak and read the language while we were there which was very cool!

If I had to describe the food in Paris I don't even know where to begin! I was absolutely in love with everything in Paris but the food was so wonderful! There was a small patisserie right by our hotel which we went to quite a bit!



Off to the right is a picture of me in front of one of my absolute favorite locations in Paris! Notre Dame was actually the very first place that our group went when we got to the city. Notre Dame was absolutely beautiful, we got to climb to the top to see the bell and the gargoyles which was so neat! Also, we went back to the area several times for lunch, shopping and to check out the Christmas tree!

To the left is tiny tiny me next to the Eiffel Tower! It was another one of my favorites especially at night time! We took a night time boat cruise on the river to the north of the tower and the tower was completely lit up and each hour would sparkle! It was quite surreal to be there, it's the kind of thing that you only see in pictures!


To the right is Liz and I in front of the Louvre. I can't even begin to explain how big it was there! It was towards the end of the trip and we were exhausted but it was definitely worth seeing, along with all of the other museums we saw! The Louvre and Versailles were my two favorite museums out of the dozen that we had a chance to visit!


Now that the trip is over and we are back in Erie it's been rough getting back on to schedule. I am feeling very behind because I would typically catch up on things for clubs over the break but I obviously didn't get that chance! I am a bit tired but doing well adjusting into my new classes! I can't wait until the weekend so I can get some sleep!
Stay tuned for some news on classes for winter term!

"You are younger today than you ever will be again. Make use of it."
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