Chapter 10: Gaudí

song: strut Hello friends! Today I went to Park Güell with Tia and we discovered that the park is so much larger than we imagined. When you search “Park Güell” on Google or Pinterest, you typically see the benches made with colorful tiles overlooking Barcelona. So, naively, I assumed that that was Park Güell – …

Chapter 6: the record scratch

song of the week: smile Greetings all! I hope you are feeling like you’re hitting your stride. Hopefully I feel that way after every college student’s least favorite time (maybe second least favorite?) – exams. Let me start by saying that exams here are like hearing a record scratch because even though I am studying …

Chapter 5: the snowglobe

song: weight of the world Hello all! I hope this blog finds you in a good mental space.  It has been a whirlwind of experiences here in Spain and I’m coming at ya with another field trip. This time, I explored the mountainous country of Andorra! Fun fact: While some assume that Andorra is part …

The Struggles of Studying Abroad

I think it’s beneficial to express how amazing studying abroad is, but also bring up the struggles that everyone faces at one point or another. It’s a large change as you are away from family and friends and in a different country. It’s so easy to get lost in the fun portions of studying abroad, …

Chapter 4: confidently lost

song: live like there’s no tomorrow Hello wonderful people! I am writing to you from a place of peace and sending you waves of positive energy. Do you know how people say studying abroad will change you? Well, when I first heard that, I failed to realize that studying abroad can only change you if …

Au revoir aux États-Unis

“There’s only so much preparation you can do for a chapter of unknowns”.  A friend reminded me of this subtle, yet powerful, phrase the other day. Her wisdom came shortly after I explained the lingering, paradoxical feelings of nerves and excitement that have grown as the number of days that I have left in the …

Exploring London with Flying Dutchmen

My spring break here in Rome was held over Easter weekend, for obvious reasons. Since Rome is a place of pilgrimage for Catholics, it can get pretty crazy over Easter. So, I decided to meet up with my friends Annika, Jack (both studying in London with IES and CIEE respectively), and Grace (studying with IES …

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 …

It’s All Greek to Me

Γεια σας! That’s Greek for “hi everyone!” One of my concerns coming to Greece was that I didn’t even know how to say hello. Coming from Ecuador, where I spoke the language, this was really intimidating to me. How was I supposed to manage in a country where I couldn’t even ask for directions (and …

Pick a Favorite?

Every Monday, the classroom is filled with chatter about what everyone did the previous weekend. “How did you like [insert city name here]?” “What did you do there?” “Oh, I loved/didn’t like that city” “What’s your favorite place you’ve been so far?” Of course I participate in these pre-class discussions. How could I not? The …