What?! I’m in Germany?!

Yes, I still can’t believe I’m actually in Germany. It has been a crazy 2 weeks! I’ve been learning how to take the German public transport, buy groceries at a German supermarket, and communicate in German with my host mum and teachers. I’m not going to lie, it feels quite overwhelming with everything hitting me …

Chapter 3: Morocco

When you think of Morocco, what comes to mind? Everyone has their inclinations. If you’ve seen movies or know a little about the country, you may feel like you have an idea. The three short days that I spent there, I realized two things: that everything I thought before was very wrong, and that I …

Early Bird Gets the Worm

A lesson I learned last semester: don’t wait to ask for opportunities. The semester isn’t as long as you think it will be and you don’t want to wait too long. This happened to me when I visited the archaeological lab in Ecuador. It was a fantastic experience and I loved visiting, but I found …

Money Returns, Time Does Not

Here I sit, listening to a video I stumbled across while digging into Joe Henderson, who is growing on me more and more every day. This is a clip from the Aurex Jazz Fest ’80 in Japan with Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Randy and Michael Brecker, and Joe Farrell on Homestretch Blues. These are some …

Chapter 2: Portugal

On Friday, February 7th, a group of about twenty CIEE students made their way onto a bus. This bus was heading to the infamous Lisbon, Portugal (or Lisboa as they say). We had the Airbnb, round trip tickets and passports ready. I came into the weekend without any expectations or notions as to what this …

Chapter 1: Setting Roots

So far, my time in this wonderful city has been nothing short of amazing. In the two weeks that I have been here, I have had the pleasure of experiencing a lot for the first time. My favorite by far is la Plaza de España which is one of Spain’s largest and most beautiful attractions …

A Beginner’s Guide to Sevilla

On the morning of January 15th, I woke up to sounds of a plane engine. Getting out of the hotel bed and walking over to the window, I could see the plane rising up over the O’Hare control tower and disappearing into the grey clouds hanging low in the sky. I was in Chicago with …

How to Extend And Then Cancel a Study Abroad Extension

What a rollercoaster! So for a variety of reasons and a lot of planning, I decided it would be in my best interest to stay a year. Now, what does that process look like? Well, I can only speak for CIEE. The first thing I did was email the Center for Global Engagement at Hope …