Writings for Professional Blog

The following is a blog that I wrote for the Indiana University International Programs blog.

I was excited to see that International Programs was an option to blog about because I just so happen to have gone on an International Study Abroad trip to London/England for two weeks during the summer of 2015. I was 5 months pregnant when we took off on a plane that would last almost 13 hours.

I knew it would be more of a challenge keeping up with the class, but I participated in everything that was asked of the students and even went out venturing with my best friend and other classmates on our own. Yes, my best friend was with me on the trip. Actually, it was her idea to first and when she told me about it, I told her I was coming too.

Photo Credit: Teara Moore

The above photo was taken in Scotland. We were visiting the Highlands, and we were on a steamship cruising Loch Katrine. It was colder than we expected, so we improvised with covering our heads with our scarves. We look like a couple of old ladies!

Photo Credit: Amanda Robinson

This is a stunning picture of Loch Katrine. It was taken while on the steamship known as SS Sir Walter Scott. It is named after the gentleman who wrote a poem about the Loch called The Lady of the Lake.

One of our class assignments before the trip was made was to read and analyze this piece of history so that we could get a better understanding of where we were visiting. The poem has 3 main plots, which were, a contest between 3 men, to win the love of Ellen Douglas, and a war between the highlands and the lowlands. It is not the easiest read, but the story is entertaining if you can grasp what is happening.

Photo Credit: Amanda Robinson

We were also able to hang out and feed some harry coos bread. That was fun, and possibly a once in a lifetime moment for me. They are beautiful animals, and there was even a baby harry coo that came to check us out.

For those of you that do not know, harry coos are native cattle of the Highlands. They are known to be humble animals. But, watch out if you dare attempt to pet them. The have sharp horns that can cut you (no one or harry coo was injured during our encounter).

The experiences with the Scottish people were even more special than the sceneries. Everyone was just nice and welcoming with lots of stories. One thing about the Scottish is that they love to tell stories. You may never know what the accurate history is for sure. Depending on who is telling it, the story may alter some due to adding the individual personalities. Either way, their accents are too cool to care who is fibbing and who is not.

Traveling Tuesdays

Image Credit: Amanda Robinson

I love traveling and hope to go on many more adventures in my short life. "Traveling Tuesdays" is going to take place every Tuesday. I will talk about a different traveling experience, and I hope to hear about yours! Traveling may not always go as planned, there are delays, time issues, and unexpected occurrences just happen. That what makes it more fun though, and also better stories. 

I decided to start off by talking about my IUSB study abroad trip to England and Scotland that I took last summer while five months pregnant with my daughter.

I planned on going on this trip with my best friend who was also attending IUSB. It was going to be our last chance to do something fun while in college, so we turned in all the paperwork and got our passports. Of course, life happens and I found out I was pregnant. You think that would stop me from experiencing this once in a lifetime journey. Heck no!

I packed some extra snacks, kissed my two sons and boyfriend goodbye and headed out on a shuttle bus to catch a plane in Chicago. We learned fast that traveling does not always go as planned. We ended up being two days late getting to London, due to an accident on the toll road and we missed our original flight.

Quick tip #1: If traveling long distances while prego, then wear tight socks and shoes. If not, your ankles and feet might swell up like water balloons!

London was a blast. We saw all kinds of museums, the West Minister Abbey, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and Kensington Palace, just to name a few.

Quick tip #2: Do not ask guards at Kensington Palace for directions. I am not sure if it was my American accent that turned this guard off, but, as I was walking towards him with a map he was getting his baton out of the holster and looked as if he was going to beat me with no mercy. The look on my face must have said it all, or it was my friend’s yells for me to stop walking towards him, but I turned around quickly and got out of that place. The guard did not follow me, thank god.

One thing that was really hard for me to deal with, besides my cankles, was that finding ice cold drinks, or anything for that matter, was hard to come by. I never realized how spoiled I was with having ice in my water, nor have I ever craved ice so bad in my life.

After our visit in London, we got on a train to head to Edinburgh in Scotland. We even saw the famous Platform 9 ¾, at the train station in London, where Harry Potter was filmed.

Once we were in Edinburgh, one of our daily adventures was to go on a bus and tour Scotland. The orange Hairy Coo bus pulled up with the words “Honk if your Horny” on the back and I knew instantly this would be a ride of a lifetime. The driver had a lot of personality to add, along with his Scottish accent. I felt like I was on an episode of The Magic School Bus.

I remember at one point we had been driving for a while and I started to see the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen in my life. We were entering the Highlands. The giant green hills mixed with the perfectly placed clouds made my heart melt. I’m not sure if it was because I was already extra hormonal, but tears just started rolling down my cheeks. I had this huge overwhelming feeling of emotions and apparently couldn’t contain it anymore. The beauty literally made me cry.

The picture above is me at a castle overlooking the Highlands. Basically on top of the world, at least it felt like it. It was quite a long hike to get up there.

Overall this trip was an amazing experience. If you are interested reading more stories about this fun expedition, then you can visit Blogs the class wrote while we were overseas at IUSB London Edinburgh 2015. 

Touring London and Scotland, feeding hairy coos bread, learning all the history, and being able to go inside the creepy castles were all worth all the discomforts of being pregnant and traveling. It really was not that bad. I paced myself as best as possible, and everyone understood if I needed to slow down.

Has anyone been on a study abroad trip or plan to in the future? I am so glad that I was able to go. I highly recommend it! I hear there are wonderful spring break study abroad trips to Costa Rica!

Life Seems Like it is Racing By

Image Credit: Pepe

It always seems as if we are playing catch with our lives. It seems like life is speeding past us right before our eyes. It seems like there is never enough hours in the day. It seems like we cannot grasp the precious moments before they slip right out of our hands.

Life is busy, especially if you are taking care of several people (includes children) besides yourself. Always on the go, always in a rush, always so tired.

I revealed my love for coffee in an earlier Blog. It keeps me going, and it gives me the ability to conquer the world. Well, at least I feel like I can.

Have you ever wondered what effects coffee has on our minds and bodies? I have, and figured that now is the perfect time to do some research on this matter.

Interesting fact: Coffee is the second most consumed beverage, water being number one.

In an article, Coffee and its Consumption: Benefits and Risks, written by Masood Sadiq Butt and M. Tauseef Sultan, describes how some researchers blame coffee for being linked to cardiovascular and cholesterol complications, various cancers, and insomnia.

On the other hand, coffee can help us properly function cognitively. Also, the fats in the coffee can help protect against some cancerous cells and prevent Parkinson’s disease, as well as, Type II diabetes.

It seems like coffee can have some pretty negative effects on our bodies if consumed in large rations. But, it also seems like it can have some benefits that outweigh the negatives. At least for me they do.

Every day I am on survival mode, and if all I need is that cup of coffee to help me function, then I am getting that cup of that liquidly goodness.

Must have Caffeine!

Image Credit: Amanda Robinson

This is the perfect picture of my current life. Here is my boyfriend Derek, my two sons Dimitri and Dominic, and my big baby girl Presley. I try to have a nice house, but let's keep it real, my house is always a disaster. These kids are full of energy that I wish I had so I can keep up with them.

My name is Amanda Robinson. I am usually somewhere in the background trying to capture moments like this. Life is short, life is crazy, and life sure does happen. Ready or not, here it comes!

Some things that I love are chocolate, traveling, and my kids. You do not understand what being in love really means until you hold your precious baby in your arms and instantly feel your heart melt like a hot knife through butter. I also love my boyfriend, my family, hard-core rap music, and feeling secure. And, last but not least, I love coffee.

I remember the first time I truly fell in love with coffee. My sister invited me to go on a brisk walk downtown and visit the South Bend Chocolate Café to grab a coffee. By coffee I mean Milk Chocolate Café Mocha. It was my first time having the delicious sweet and bitter treat, and my taste buds were not ready to experience such life in a cup.

Shortly after that I was job hunting and heard that the Chocolate Café was hiring, and I ended up getting a job there. I worked there for about three years. It was there, at the café, that I was able to learn and speak this odd coffee language, and then it happened. I became a coffee snob. All of a sudden Folger's was not the best part of waking up. I needed a real fix.

A little while after I began expressing my love for coffee, my sister introduced me to Starbucks. I am not sure if she is a bad influence or if she is brilliant. But, she suggested that I try the Cinnamon Dolce Latte, and ever since that day, I have spent a disturbing amount of money on gourmet coffee. I swear they put crack in their coffee beans. It is like heaven in a cup.

I am no expert at coffee by any means, but I do admit that have a bad addiction. It is my motivation to get up in the morning to get three young children ready for the day. It is also my motivation in the afternoon to keep taking care of the overwhelming amount of responsibilities and priorities.

Something always needs to be done. There is homework, housework, making meals, making memories with the kids, taking care of the kids, trips to the store, spending time with my boyfriend, paying bills, organizing, being a taxi driver, trying to have a social life, this list could go on and on. Life is exhausting, and I need caffeine to survive all this madness.

Coffee is definitely the way I get my daily pick-me-up in a cup, but I am aware there are other options to get caffeine and energy. My boyfriend drinks energy drinks while he is at his job that is very physically demanding. He says that the drinks, such as, ROCKSTAR give him that extra zing that he needs to get him through the work day and then come home and help out with everything. I worry about the negative effects that these energy drinks have, but I have not officially done any research yet.

Do you drink coffee or energy drinks? If so, then why that choice? Has anyone ever taken pills sold over the counter?