El Camino de Santiago

What a fun filled week with great friends, lots of laughs, many blisters, and even more memories! This past week my program had a Fall Break allowing for extended travels and also an opportunity to walk the last five days of the Camino de Santiago (The Way of Saint James), from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. …

Lotofaga Village Visit

This past week I had a 10 day home stay in the rural village of Lotofaga on the south side of Upolu. This was an incredible experience. My host family consisted of 11 people, which was a very average family size for the village. I had a host mother and father, four host sisters, a …

Cheers to new adventures!

There is something so comforting about living in a foreign country where you don’t speak the same language. Don’t get me wrong, it can get extremely frustrating wanting so desperately to engage in conversations with those that you meet that both ends end up talking so much louder than normal in hopes of the other …

The First Week’s Experiences

Hello all! It has officially been a month since I’ve landed in Spain and moved in with my host family. I cannot believe how quickly time is flying by- and that I only have 3 months left in this beautiful country. The week before my program’s normal class load began, we had a few days …

University of the South Pacific

I am currently taking classes at the University of the South Pacific in Apia, Samoa. The USP is a fascinating and extremely unique organization. Because the islands of the South Pacific are scattered throughout thousands of miles, and many of the islands are extremely small, there had been difficulty throughout the years in establishing a …

Samoa: First Impressions

I have now been in Samoa for one week, and it is quite an adventure. We arrived in Apia, the capital, early in the morning after a 6 hour red-eye flight from Honolulu, and went straight to the University of the South Pacific, our new home. After checking into our rooms, we left for downtown …

Dancing Through Life

Dancing is such a fun activity. It is crazy to think that there is dancing all over the world, and people use it in celebrations, in weddings, in death, and just as a social event. I am not certain how big of a role dancing has played in Chile’s history, but it is playing a …

Some Favorites So Far

It continues to be a busy yet fun time here in Chile! Last weekend my familia and I went to Santiago. They have a daughter that lives there with her family, so we visited. It was a lot of fun but quite busy, and I had a lot of homework due this week, so I …

The Beginning of a Spanish Adventure

I’m here! I made it! And it has been just over a week since I moved in with my host family. I am a participant in the CIEE- Liberal Arts program and here in Alicante, so my fellow program participants and I attended a three-day orientation before moving in with our families. Orientation was just …

It’s Almost Adventure Time!

“Are you excited?” “Are you packed?” “Are you nervous?” “Are you ready?” The four questions I don’t seem to mind responding to. The answers? “Do you want this week’s or last?”  Truth is, my emotions about leaving for Alicante, Spain are all over the place. I am thrilled, nervous, confused, worried (a little), happy. All of those …