Pasta, Pasta and more Pasta

The other day I put up a question on facebook asking, ‘It’s ok to drink wine everyday.. right?’

I should also be asking the question, ‘It’s ok to eat some form of pasta everyday.. right?’  Haha, I’ve been in Italy now for about 5 weeks and I think I’ve had either pasta or pizza at least once.. everyday.  I mean, it could be that I just love pasta that much - but I think the truth is that, pasta is just so stinking cheap here.

I buy 3 boxes of pasta for about €1,80 that lasts me about a week and a half or so.  Then I buy some tomato sauce, some bacon, and boom - I’m set on dinner for the next few days.  It’s incredible.  My roommates started making fun of me for making pasta with tomato sauce everyday - so I decided that starting about three weeks ago - I would make a ‘different’ type of pasta every Thursday for the rest of my time here.

The first Thursday was pretty awesome.  I went online and learned how to make pasta carbonara and it actually turned out really good.  As you can tell from this picture - I was extremely proud of myself.

Oh man, look at that beautiful pasta

Anyways, after that first Thursday, I started to get pretty excited about the next week.  My confidence took over and we invited a few people over to our apartment and me and my buddy Martin, from Sweden, cooked up some classic Fettuccine Alfredo.  It didn’t turn out too bad, and the good thing was we were able to cook dinner for about 6 people.

Here’s some of the leftovers

So after word got out of ‘Pasta Thursdays’, people got pretty excited about the upcoming dish of some homemade lasagna.  Now, the stuff that I made was one thing - but homemade lasagna is a whole different ballgame.  Anyways, Sebastian, my buddy from Colombia, who is training to be a cook - came over and basically did the whole thing himself, which turned out to be a good thing, because the lasagna came out incredible - and I got to learn how to make it myself for the next time.  I didn’t take a picture of the lasagna, but basically we had about 10 people over and we enjoyed some incredible dinner and about 8 bottles of wine together.  Stay tuned for this next Thursday, when we come up with another round of pasta.

Well besides pasta, I’ve also been introduced to the most incredible pizza place ever.  Basically, you order a €6 pizza, and you get the most giant thing placed in front of you.  It’s just about impossible to finish it in one sitting, and I always make sure to get it ‘da asporta’ - so I can enjoy the rest for lunch the next day. 

Here’s my favorite pizza: ‘La Messicana’ and there is my roommate Eva, with a Calzone.. yes, that is one Calzone.

It might seem like all I do is eat… which may be true.  But, I’ve also done a little exploring of the city that I live in.

Bologna, is one of the oldest and was one of most important cities in Italy.  The Towers of Bologna, are just about at the center of city, and are the place that everyone meets before going anywhere. 

You can climb up the giant structure on the right and look over the entire city.  I thought it sounded like a good idea - but, unlike in Germany, there isn’t an elevator to take you all the way to the top.  This may not seem like THAT big of a deal - but if you are afraid of heights like yours truly, seeing stairs like these… kind of make you think twice..

Anyways, after what seemed like forever - we finally made it to the top and just look at how excited we are: Sophie (Norway), Eva (Sweden), Sebastian (Colombia), Me, and Charlotte (Germany)

Oh my other roommate, Felicity (England), was also there.  So ya, it was a good time, and looking over the city was pretty incredible.  In this picture, you can see the center (with the main church, San Petronio Basilica, on the left)

Well, ya.  I think that may be it for this post.  Hopefully the loads of pictures made up for the fact that I haven’t written anything in 3 weeks.  I’ll try to make this a typical Saturday afternoon thing.  I’ve got to make sure to keep track of my last two months here in Italy!  Ok, well, until next time - God Bless!

19 February 2011 · Comments

• Tags
• Pasta
• Bologna
• Towers of Bologna
• San Petronio Basilica

2 Weeks in Italy.. complete!

Well, my first two weeks in this new city have passed, and everything is finally in order.  Originally, I had only booked 2 weeks here in Bologna - because I wanted to be able to possibly find a cheaper apartment and/or school.  What I wasn’t anticipating was that there would be a bazillion other students trying to do the same thing as me right now.  I don’t to bore anyone with details, but basically I searched non-stop for the two weeks without finding anything and then had to wait on my landlady until yesterday to make sure I would be able to stay here in this apartment.  I also signed up at the school to start afternoon classes starting on Monday, and well basically should now be set for the next 3 months here.

Oh and that’s another thing.  I may be coming back sometime in the middle of April, and finally end this ridiculously long vacation/incredible experience.  So, I’m going to be buckling down and putting everything into learning this language and coming back quad-lingual.

Ok, enough - so how did my first two weeks go?  Well, I would say pretty awesome.  I use internet for usually less than 3 hours a day, which has helped up my ‘life-productivity’ - and has forced my to study even more than I’ve been used to.  Usually, I study this language for maybe 2-3 hours per day, which I feel is starting to show a bit.  As far as last weekend, on Friday I went out with a friend that I met who was from Norway - and on Saturday, I went to the Italian National Baseball Convention which was taking place just outside of Bologna.  Stefano from Minelli Next, picked me up and took me to their booth and let me meet a couple of American teacher/ex-baseball players, which was really cool.

Here’s a picture at their booth, which was burning a name with a laser into a bat that they sold

Here’s one of the Americans, using this program they created to help correct swings, demonstrating on stage (Italian translator on the foreground)

So that was a lot of fun, and after the workshops, the convention put on a typical Italian banquet.  I’ve done a few banquets in the US, but this was such a better experience, basically because food was included the whole time.  Instead of eating and then listening to a speaker for 4 hours - we just ate while listening to a speaker for 4 hours.  There were 5 courses (salad, pasta, lasagna, veal, dessert), and unlimited red wine and water included.  I fully enjoyed this ‘typical Italian banquet’, and came back home at about 2am ready for some nice sleep.

Hmm, so what about the city that I live in?  Well, Bologna is a beautiful city with a big student-feel to it.  The oldest university in the world (c.1088) is here and is home to thousands of students doing an abroad-program and a lot of people doing some kind of language course.  But besides that, the city is wonderful - I need to take some pictures of the city, but all I can say is that it is so different from Hamburg and most German cities that I visited.  Hamburg was enormous and the metro-system was necessary in getting around, it was green with lots of open spaces, lakes and an airy feel to it.  Bologna on the other hand is all cement, and surrounded by hundred/thousand year old buildings.  It is has feeling that you are walking through the same streets that people centuries ago did.  It also has the typical piazza in the center of the city with their enormous church and old statue/fountain for all to see.

Anyways, the city is putting together a self-tour of the city for the next month or so, and it shows off a lot of the city’s most interesting things to see.  I’ll have to go through it and take pictures at all the places they say to.  I went last night to do the tour with my Swedish roommate and an English girl that was in our class this past week.  There are supposedly 16 points and we only made it to 5 before ‘having’ to stop and have a glass of wine.  It was nice seeing these somewhat hidden spots in Bologna and I took only a pair of pictures in spot#5.

This was in an art gallery (no, that is not my flash on the painting)

Here’s Eva, my Swedish roommate checking out the sweet mural on the ground in the art gallery.

After having a glass or two of wine, we went out to a little bar for a while and hung out there for a few hours.  Here is Reena, the girl from England, and me enjoying ourselves in this Bar.

Hm besides that, there is not too much else that I know to explain.  I’m enjoying my time here and I’m ready to make the most of the next 3 months here in Italy.  Once again, I need to say how thankful I am to have a family that can provide me with the opportunity to do something like this - as well as a God that allows me to have this incredible life.  Ok, so I’ll update again hopefully next weekend - and ya, until next time - God Bless!

30 January 2011 · Comments

• Tags
• Bologna
• Baseball
• MINE
• Bologna University
• Italian

Oh Italy..

Well.  I made it.  I finally made it to the country that I’ve been looking forward to going back to since I last left 6 years ago.  For those who don’t know, I was here for a summer when I was 17 years old.  My Dad sent me to a city close to Bergamo and I worked in a factory and just lived a somewhat Italian lifestyle while I was there.  I didn’t enjoy it all that much when I was here because I was more upset that I was forced away from all my friends for so long. 

Ever since I left though, I’ve always had a desire to come back.  The incredibly-relaxed lifestyle here is something that I love.  The long delicious meals, liters and liters of wine, and the open-friendliness of these small cities, is something to fall in love with.

Anyways, it’s been 14 days since my last post, so I’ll go ahead and sum up the end of my Germany trip real quick.  So, the last two weeks went by very fast.  But I was able to enjoy myself knocking of a big list of things I wanted to do in Hamburg before I left, including - eating a sushi buffet, at a Tapas restaurant, Tex’s BBQ, Jim Block, and of course playing Beer Pong at Thomas Read one last time.  I loved my time in Hamburg and I will never forget the friends that I made over my last 5 and a half months.  I went to a city that I had honestly never really even heard of - in a country that I didn’t learn the language - and basically just had one of the best times of my life.  I learned a new language (oh by the way, I took a test towards the end of December, and I got my results back just before I left.. I got a 2 (which is actually a really good score, haha)) - I learned how to eat like a German, I met people from all over the world that will always have a place to visit if ever in Texas (and hopefully vice versa when I’m traveling around the world), I allowed myself to try new things and made sure that I never said ‘no’ to something just to say ‘no’.  And well ya, I just had an incredible time and I have to thank my family, God, and all my friends that I met in Germany for making that happen.  I just hope Italy will be as amazing an experience.  Anyways, instead of continuing on and on - I’ll let a bunch of pictures show how my last day in Hamburg went.

So it started off with a nice lunch at Tex’s BBQ.  Awesome

Then about 20 of us met up in the school Residence.  Here’s me and my favorite Mexicans and Peruvian living in Hamburg.

Me and Thomas represent.. ALTONA!

I learned this form in Conestoga 325

Alex and Kejdi lost this one.  But sent us home losers later

Igor is my BBF (Best Brazilian Friend)

Oh Stephanie, I’m going to miss you!

We have different defensive strategies

I’m going to miss these group of guys.  Especially Hans, the English-speaking Taiwanese man

Anyways.  I got back home at about 6 that morning, and woke up at 8 to get ready to go to the airport.  I was taking the plane with my new Italian friend Luisa, and we had a good time talking about how excited we were about going to Italy.  I spent the afternoon with Stefano in Bergamo - and then I took a 2 hour train down to Bologna.  I arrived at my apartment which is absolutely huge!  I have a pretty big room, and it’s the smallest one in the flat.  Anyways, I share the flat with two British girls and an Italian guy.  Everyone seems like a good time, and so far I’m really liking the school.

I’ll talk more about the school, the culture, and just life here in Italy on the next post -because this one seems to be getting a little long.  Before I go, here’s a picture of me making tortellini.  Yes.  I have already taken a cooking class in the short time that I’ve been here.  It was so awesome.  Well - Arrivederci Tutti!  God Bless!

20 January 2011 · Comments

Goals for 2011

Well I had a great time with my brother here in Germany, and it was sad to see him leave on Saturday, but it’s time to start the New Year!  Unlike most people, I usually don’t like to throw out ‘resolutions’ for the New Year.  Instead, I try to set goals that I want to achieve this year.  This habit comes from my parents forcing us to list out our goals every year when we were younger.  I’ve always loved goals, and making them every year helps you live more in this moment.  Anyways, I encourage everyone to make a list of goals that they hope to achieve in this upcoming year - and work as much as possible to work towards those goals.  So..

Goals for 2011

-Learn Italian and retain the German that I’ve learned.
-Apply, get accepted, and begin classes on a Masters degree
-Put aside 30% of any money I earn.  10% for future purchases, 10% long-term savings, 10% to the church
-Blog, journal, and take lots of pictures
-Stay in shape by working out at least 3x p/week
-Find a part-time hotel job while I’m getting my Masters degree
-Read biographies of Gandhi (Gandhi, an Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth), Dave Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius), and Conrad Hilton (Be My Guest)
-Start training for a half-marathon to take place in Spring 2012
-Learn two new piano songs
-Take up either boxing or some form of karate classes
-Be there for our family whenever needed
-Say ‘Yes’ more

Well, I think that’s all the things I’ve come up with for this next year.  I’m moving to Bologna, Italy next Saturday - so wish me luck starting over in another new country, haha!  Anyways, this post is ultra-short - so here’s a couple pictures from NYE here in Hamburg.

The NYE crew (except for Stephanie)

Here’s me and my brother looking snazzy in opposite shirt/tie

So, until next time - God Bless!

6 January 2011 · Comments

• Tags
• 2011 Goals
• Bologna
• Hamburg
• NYE 2011

Holiday time with Miles

One of the hardest things about being overseas is being so far away from your family.  Not only the distances, but the time differences make it seem like the family is a million miles away.  At this time I would also like to thank the creator of Skype for coming up with probably one of the coolest programs ever made.  Skype has really been a life-saver whenever I’ve been feeling a little homesick.

Another thing about the distance is that it makes you really value just how important family is.  Now don’t get me wrong - I’ve always felt like I’ve been a pretty good ‘family man’, and have always tried to be there for whenever my mom, dad, or brother needed me.  But being so far away, really makes you appreciate just how important family really is.  I’m so unbelievably thankful that I was blessed with the family that I was.  From being raised speaking two different languages to getting countless birthday emails from my 19 Aunts and Uncles - I am so appreciative of what God has given me in this life.

Anyways, I say all that to say just how awesome it was to have my brother Miles coming over to spend the holidays with me.  I spent my birthday alone over here, and it was pretty tough - and just having Miles here these last two weeks have been so refreshing.  We haven’t really done too much - but just having someone from my family here for so long is all I need.  He got here Saturday the 18th and was a couple hours late showing up because his train was canceled a few times.  It has been snowing unbelievably here and there are airports all across Europe that have been shut down due to weather.  

Here’s a view of one of the first days it started snowing here

Anyways, I was there waiting to give him some German chocolates and a scarf.  We hung out for a while and then went out that night, but didn’t stay out too long.

I had classes the first week he was here, so we kind of hung out, watched movies, and went out for some good eating/drinking.  Miles’ first full beer of his life was here in Germany.  So that is something he can put down in his list of interesting facts.

Here’s a picture commemorating that experience

On Christmas, we decided that we should try to cook a normal Christmas meal.  This may seem like an easy task to everyone else in the world, but neither of us had any experience cooking anything except for frozen foods.  So we went to our number one source of information: instructional internet videos!  We spent the rest of the day cooking our turkey, potatoes, veggies, gravy, stuffing and dessert.  Everything turned out awesome, and here’s a video showing us finishing up our hard work with extreme satisfaction. 

No idea what he’s doing

Checking the Turkey

Potatoes don’t peel themselves

Finished

Merry Christmas from the O’Brien kids

Our original plan for after Christmas, was to take a train to Paris and stay there for a few days and come back to Hamburg for New Years Eve.  Unfortunately, that didn’t go as planned and we’ve just ended up staying here, relaxing and enjoying the time together.  Tomorrow is New Years Eve, and we’ll be going out to experience New Years in our 3rd different continent!  I hope that everyone stays safe and has enjoyed this holiday season as much as I have.  My next post will probably be my New Year’s Resolutions!  Anyways, until next time - God Bless!

30 December 2010 · Comments

Life Update! (mit Deutsch!)

Once again.. It has been way too long since my last update.  This time around, a lot has actually happened.  Let’s see if I can remember everything..

So a week after my last post, we had a big group get together to go to a nice ‘classy’ bar.  The bar was called 20&Up - except I’m not really sure why.  Maybe, because the bar was 20 stories up.  Anyways, we were told to dress ‘Sport Chic’, which meant that I finally was able to wear something a little nicer than my every weekend-collared shirt.  The bar was pretty cool - you could see most of Hamburg from the huge windows, but the place was just too crowded and the drinks weren’t the cheapest things in the world.  I enjoyed it, but probably don’t see myself going back there the rest of my time here. 

Here’s a picture of a few of us there.  Carmela enjoying my tie - city in the background.

The next Thursday was a friend’s last night here.  She had to fly back to Italy, so we went out and I was lucky enough to show all my friends how the wonderful game of Beer Pong works.  That.  Was.  Awesome.

Deborah!  (I promise you, we’re both much better looking in real life)

Hm, the weekend after that I was able to go down to Bayern to see my Dad!  Bayern is a ‘State’ about 6 hours south of Hamburg.  Here’s a little Google Maps to give you a visual.  Anyways, like the map shows, I went down to Augsburg, which is a city where a partner, of my Dad’s company, is.  It was cool seeing the area, and I had heard many times about the differences between North and South Germany (dialect, mannerisms, food..) and well it was totally spot on.  The dialect was much easier to understand than I had anticipated, the people were much more open, and the food/beer was just incredible.  Seriously, go to Bayern (Munich) and just enjoy the food as much as possible.  More than likely you’ll have to do about 2 months of fitness preparation, because the calorie count will go through the roof!

The plan the next day was originally to go up to Nürnburg (which is home to the biggest Weihnactsmarkt in the world).  But instead we ended up heading out of Augsburg a little late and going straight to Würzburg, where we would be staying that night.  Another visual - you can see Nürnburg almost on the way.  Anyways Würzburg was awesome!  Totally freezing, but I’m pretty used to that by now.  We walked around the Weihnactsmarkt for a while, had some more awesome food, and then headed back to watch some German Talent show on the TV (with me translating).  Me and my Dad then said our good-byes, and it was off to bed for our separate super early trains.  It was sad to see my Dad go again after such a short time, but it’s always the best time seeing someone from my family again!

Here’s a picture of an extra-long würst in Würzburg and a extra-tall beer in Augsburg.

Um, ya.  So last weekend was the last weekend here for two of my good friends, Gaetan and Carmela.  Gaetan left for Switzerland and Carmela for Brazil.  For their last nights we enjoyed ourselves out on the town.  I will miss Gaetan super-bazooka high quality camera,  Carmela’s super-intense party attitude.  

Gaetan, with 1L Beers!

Carmela (We’re also better looking in real-life)

Anyways.  Saturday it was also a Birthday Party for a girl in my class - and we were able to get most of the class together at her party for a picture.  So these are the cool kids from B1 Lektion 7.

On Friday I have an enormous test that I paid quite a bit of money for, and will officially ‘certify’ my B1 German ability.  I’m going to write out a little bit of 1 of my 3 speaking parts, hopefully to give me a little more practice, and to show off a little of my skills.  Also on Saturday, my brother comes and will be spending the next two weeks here!  I’ll try to post again sometime before Christmas, but we’ll see how it goes.  If not, enjoy my German, have a Merry Christmas, a happy New Year and may God Bless you!

Hallo, mein Name ist Lance.  Ich komme aus den USA her aber jetzt wohne ich bei einer Gäste-Familie in Altona.  Ich bin in Deutschland, nur um Deutsch zu lernen und nach Deutschland, gehen ich nach Italien, um Italienisch zu lernen.  Meine Familie wohnen noch in Texas.  Meine Eltern wohnen in einem Stadtteile außerhalb Dallas und mein Bruder wohnt bei seiner Universität.  Meine Mutter kommt aus Mexiko her, also ich besuche Mexiko ein oder zwei mal pro Jahr.  Ich habe auch Spanien, Italien, die Schweiz, Australien, und Kanada besuchen.  Außer Englisch kann ich auch Spanisch sprechen, weil meine Mutter mir es beigebracht hat. 

16 December 2010 · Comments

• Tags
• Germany
• Augsburg
• Bayern
• Beer Pong
• German
• Würzburg

Europe?? Why??

After introducing myself and telling people where I’m from, the most asked question that I get is, “..umm, so why are you here?”  Now, I know that it’s not normal for someone to just fly off to another country for the sole purpose of learning a language, so maybe I should go ahead and talk about why I’m here.

For those who have met me more than one time, most likely know that my mom was born in Mexico and has spoken Spanish to me my whole life.  I’ve never not understood two languages, and have always had an interest in learning another language.  When I was in high school, I took 3 years of French - but basically just used the class like so many others - as a blow off class to sit and ‘learn’.  I got to college and took two semesters of a Spanish class and was able to finally learn a little Spanish grammar, and actually became a bit more comfortable with speaking the language.  I downloaded Rosetta Stone (yes, illegally) on my computer and have the program with 27 different languages.  I had the desire to learn a 3rd language, but knew that the only way I would be able to truly learn the language would be to go and immerse myself. 

Sometime around the end of my Junior year, my parents suggested that I go overseas after I graduate.  I took it kind of as a joke at first and was set of going and getting my Masters straight after college like so many others.  But the more I thought of it, the more excited I became.  I thought to myself, why not go and do something that differentiates myself from every other college student with decent grades.  Sure, I graduated with two majors (one being International Business) and could already speak two languages - but with the way the economic crisis effected not only jobs, but also the amount of applicants to graduate programs, I knew I had to do something that would set me apart from all of my peers. 

I thought to myself that a year overseas and the goal of learning two more languages, would not only set me apart in terms of being capable of interacting with more people in this daily shrinking globe, but also give me an experience that I would never forget.  I believe that this is the type of thing that employers, application reviewers, and future colleagues will look at and see that I am not just like everyone else.  It has also been nice coming over and ‘breaking’ the American stereotype a bit.  I’ve met so many people here who have been impressed by the fact that an American would not just settle for knowing English, even though our language is the most powerful language in the world.  

The experience has been incredible so far, and I encourage everyone to step out of their comfort zone and just put themselves out there.  I’ve met people from all over the world and have learned the lifestyle of completely different people.  I’ve loved Germany and I can’t wait to go and enjoy the more laid-back style of the Italians in January.  This whole trip could not have been possible with my parents generosity or without God’s blessing.  I owe the world to them and I hope that I will be able to pay them back with the actions in the rest of my life.

Ok, anyways - that is all I’ve got to say about that for right now.  This past weekend we went to the Dom, which is a big fair that goes on here in Hamburg a few times a year.  It lasts about one month and is AMAZING for eating, drinking, and just trying a new things.  Here’s a few pictures from this past Saturday.

Me and my roommate Nabil

Nabil again

Afterwards, a few of us went to the Fischmarkt (which I’ve already talked about here)  This picture was taken at around 6am with rain all around us and the city port and a big ship behind us.

On Monday night, a bunch of us went to a Fondue restaurant.  There are a lot of people here from Switzerland, so I guess there’s been a general craving for some Fondue lately.  They found a Swiss fondue restaurant and were totally excited.  I’m thinking they were expecting a little more because it wasn’t EXACTLY Swiss Fondue, but I had a great time and couldn’t tell the difference, haha!  Here’s a picture of a few of us that were there.  Please ignore my face and instead of focus on the cheese, food, and wine.

That is about it for now.  I promise it won’t be as long the next time I post.  Hopefully I’ll get another post in sometime this weekend, maybe Sunday.

But to hold you over until then, here is a picture of me from when I was 17 with some long, blond hair on a Mission Trip in LA.  (I was telling some people how cool I was 6 years ago - and here’s some proof) Haha!

Until next time - God Bless!

17 November 2010 · Comments