Rosie is going into her Senior year this fall at Point Park University, taking Journalism as her minor. Throughout her minor, she has taken classes, where she had to write a variety of stories, including stories for the news and sports, as well as, a few person profiles. She has also learned how to make multimedia stories, and learned how to take better photos and how to take better quality videos; she has also learned how to edit the videos and photos. By taking Journalism as her minor, it not only gave her a good backup plan for if what she wants to do does not happen, but also, it has taught her a different form or way of writing than she has learned throughout any of her studies for her major.
Besides writing, Rosie loves to play instruments; as of right now, she knows how to play the guitar, piano, ukulele, banjo, flute, and she is trying to learn how to play the drums. Some of her other hobbies, include: playing tennis, running, swimming, etc.. She loves being outside and considers herself very adventurous. Two of her favorite outdoors and adventurous activities to do are rock climbing and hiking up mountains, which she tries to do at least once every other week, during every summer. Rosie aspires to travel the world for a bit after college ends, so this international trip is the beginning of that dream.
Making My Dream Come True!
I can’t believe that the Spring semester is already over. However, the ending of the semester was not the best, since I had three people, I was relatively close to, pass away, so I did not finish the semester, as strongly as, I would have liked to. Over the two weeks, in-between the ending of the semester and this international trip, I have been planning and going to funerals, which is not a great start to the break. My heart is broken, but I will go into this trip with a smile on my face. I am very excited to learn about different cultures, to try new foods, to talk to new people and to learn how to write better, as a journalist. I am also very excited that this will be the first time that I ever fly overseas — it’s scary and I’m nervous, but at the same time, I am so joyful and happy. One of my dreams is to be able to travel to as many different countries as I can, during my life and learn about everything I can with those countries. This international trip to Iceland and Ireland is the first step, the beginning of that dream coming true. I have traveled all over the United States because my dad was in the Air Force, but I have never flown international. This is an experience that I know, I will cherish always and that I will never forget. Life is an adventure and this is one adventure, I have been dreaming about for years now.
My First Day in Iceland
After spending nine hours at JFK Airport and a bit of a delay in the flight, we all finally made it to Iceland. It was from there that we met our tour guide, Helga. During the bus ride, she was talking about the history of Iceland and letting us know the different streets, as well as, the different famous landmarks. My favorite part of the bus tour was when she showed us the military base and the houses that the soldiers stayed in because my dad was stationed here in Iceland for one year. Of course, now they do not have a military base and have not had one for the last eleven years, as Helga mentioned. While on the bus tour, our first bus was have some sort of trouble, so we had to stop and wait for a new bus. Where we stopped was in front of a church and the President of Iceland’s house, which was amazing. The group got out and ended up going around the area taking photo after photo.
We eventually finally reached our hotel, which just by the lobby, I knew it was going to be a nice and cozy hotel. From there, we all took off in different directions to explore around the hotel. The Center Hotels is in an amazing spot because it is around everything. You do not have to walk that far to go and get food or to go to a shop. While walking around the different stores and the different restaurants, it shocked me just how expensive it really is over here. I expected it because we talked about it quite a bit in class, but it still did not prepare me for it though. One thing I noticed while walking around the area is that the people here are so nice. I did not know exactly what the coins were, so I tried to ask Nikki, and one of the people who was sitting next to me overheard me, and she answered my questions. I found out that the two women were from Canada and that they have been to Iceland a few times. Also, one of the women, spent seven years in Ireland, so we all talked about their experiences and they asked about the class. They were very kind and answered all the questions that we had.
After finally being able to check into the rooms, I ended up falling asleep. I was so exhausted, as the effects of jet lag was finally hitting me. As soon as I hit the pillow, I was out, like a light. I set multiple alarms, but I did not hear them at all, so I ended up being late for the meeting before going to the restaurant for dinner. I ended up feeling really sick and my anxiety felt like it was at an all-time high. During the meeting, I was tearing up on and off and I could not control it at, all. Then as we were all waiting for some people to come back from an item from their rooms, I ended up full on breaking down in tears. Luckily, Rachel and Jac were there because they helped me calm down before I went into a full blown panic attack. The group went to Restaurant Reykjavik, which is right to the left of the hotel. The food was amazing and the dessert was the best in the world. Plus, there was these group of men, in which one of them came to talk to us about what our group was and they explained what they did, which was something about helping out refugees and that they are traveling around to figure out how to expand that.
I knew from the day that I signed up for this trip that Iceland was going to be beautiful. Being here now, I never expected it to be this gorgeous though. The mountains were my favorite part because they just blew me away. I cannot wait to explore Iceland more with the Golden Circle Tour tomorrow because that is what I am the most excited about in Iceland. I am just truly blown away by the beauty of Iceland and everything that it offers.
Day Two in Iceland – The Most Blissful and Grateful I’ve Ever Felt
Today was the most exciting day and a day I have been waiting for, since the beginning of the class. The ‘Golden Circle Tour’ is what I did my media report and presentation on, so I knew so much about it already. But one thing, I quickly learned is that the photos, just do not do these places or landmarks justice. Of course, the photos are beyond gorgeous, but seeing it in person, just blew my mind. Iceland has some of the most beautiful landmarks and scenery that I will forever be grateful to have gotten to see. Also, I am filled with so much bliss that I have never felt, such happiness, as I do here in Iceland.
The first landmark was the Thingvellir National Park. This place was phenomenal because it is the only place in this world, where you get to have the chance to see the tectonic plates actually moving and separating areas of land, and the results of that. Iceland is truly blessed to be able to not only be on one tectonic plate, but two – the American plate and the Eurasian plate. One thing I will never forget is being able to touch the very end of North America because that was an experience that you can get to have there and nowhere else, and who knows, I might never have that chance again. Also, being able to see the line that represent where Europe actually begins was so amazing. One last thing, I will mention about this area is seeing the flag of Iceland, which when we got there, this woman was singing the Icelandic National Anthem and she was so amazing at singing; it was interesting to hear their National Anthem, especially since it was so beautifully sung.
The second landmark was the Geysir Geothermal Area. Unfortunately, at this area, I did not see any geysers spouting water up close because I did not want to walk all the way up through the whole entire walking trial, where they were sprouting water every three to five minutes. I wanted to see Strokkur sprout, but all it did was tease us. Our tour guide told us that it usually sprouts every five to eight minutes, but some of us waited for ten or even, fifteen minutes for it to sprout. Sadly it did not. After I was done, I went to the gift shop where I bought a seal snowglobe that I fell in love with, since I love seals. Going there was truly gorgeous because I actually have never seen a geyser before, so this was a new experience that I will take with me forever.
The third landmark was the Gullfoss Waterfall or the Golden Waterfall. This was the one that I was the most excited to see. I did not go all the way down near it because it was getting more and more cold, the closer I got to it, so I went just to the first standing area and took a few pictures. Then I headed up to get something to eat and be in the warmth of the cafe. I ended up forgetting my wallet on the bus, but Rachel told me she would pay for it and that I could pay her back later. I did pay her back after dinner that night.
Today, I probably took over 100 photos, maybe even, 200 photos because everything that I saw today was so beautiful, that I just had to take a photo of it all. I especially took photos of seeing the full blown rainbow and the double rainbow, we were able to see, because I’ve never seen either one. I’ve only seen parts of a rainbow, so that was just a beautiful sight. Being in Iceland, I have never felt so blessed. This is truly one of the most gorgeous countries in the world, even though this is the only country I have been too, I already have it in my mind that no other country could ever compare to the beauty of Iceland’s scenery.
Day Three in Iceland – My Last Day, Media Visits, and What I Will Never Forget
My very last full day in Iceland was a sad one. I just did not want to leave; I wanted to stay, so I could just explore all the different regions and really take in all of the beauty that Iceland holds. Today was filled with two media visits and then some free times to just explore Iceland on our very last day. I learned quite a lot about ‘Promote Iceland’ and ‘Grapevine,’ as well as, I learned about the culture of Iceland and how they want to be represented throughout the world.
The ‘Promote Iceland’ media visit was probably my favorite out of the two. I really like how they were all about being authentic and being true to themselves. A quote that I really liked was “Answer the door in the clothes you are already wearing,” which I think is a lot different from America. In America, we are not always ourselves, we change to try and impress someone, which can be very tiring. People need to learn that it is alright to be themselves around new people because if they only like you for what you are pretending to be, then they do not deserve to have a part in your life. I also enjoyed the videos that they shared because they were unique and very funny, which made me want to watch more. I definitely think that what they are doing is working tremendously well and they should keep it up because more people should come and see the nature and beauty of Iceland, as well as, ‘come and be inspired by Iceland.’
The Grapevine media visit was, also, pretty interesting. I really like how they were laid back and very authentic. They did not try to put on an act and honestly did not care if people liked what they are writing or not because they write the truth. Also, I thought it was interesting how they are such a small company, but they still are going and moving forward, even though most newspaper companies go bankrupt within three or four years. Now with this one, I would walk into cafes or the hotel and there would be copies of the newspaper somewhere around, which just proves that people do enjoy reading their paper. Another thing is that they keep tourists in mind while writing the paper, but they do not interview any tourists. I just found this media visit interesting and I definitely would love to work for them or do an internship with them because it seems, like it would be so beneficial and fun.
The two media visits were different, but at the same time, the two were not so different from one another; meaning that they both had aspects that were the same. They both were very authentic and did not care, if you did not like something because they both are not about putting on a fake act to get people to come to Iceland or to get people to read their paper. That is truly something you do not see a lot of nowadays, especially in America. I feel like when I talk to people, that I do not know if this is the real them or not. I would love to see America be more authentic with themselves and their writing because some of the journalists do not tell the full truth – they exaggerate and it truly is upsetting to see that.