TYS > DUB: Look to the Stars

I’ve been in Dublin for three days now after what felt like an endless travel day. Most of the people in my program flew directly to Dublin. Not me though–I took three separate flights, each with a hefty layover in between. In a way, this travel day scared me. I’d known about it for months …

Labas, Lietuva!

The Adventure Begins! Exploring the Baltic Captial My first thought when I stepped out of the airport in Vilnius, Lithuania, was, “It’s cold.” Indeed, no amount of internet research and mental pep talks could have sufficiently prepared me for the frigid weather that greeted me. After the shock of the weather had left my system, …

All about IES London Theater Studies

Class Experience As a theatre studies student at IES London, the majority of my classes were theater-based, including Playwriting Workshop, Text and Dramatic Imagination, Theatre Industry, and Acting Then and Now. I loved all of these classes and highly recommend them to anyone interested in studying theatre. One of the highlights for me that came …

Country Havens to Hidden Homes

The places I once called Rome’s havens are now mine too. This morning on the way to class I stopped in with my guy friend at my favorite sweet little Sicilian-style bakery to get an overpriced fluffy cornetto on the walk to our last final (and truthfully treated myself to two cornetti instead of one). …

Treasured memories: my time on the UK DiscoverIES field trips

A few weeks before I left for my semester in London, I was sent the UK DiscoverIES field trip sign up. For IES London, the field trips were to Bath and Stonehenge, Canterbury and Dover, Windsor, Edinburgh, and Oxford. At first, I was hesitant to go on many of them because I knew that there …

Does traveling with your parents really conquer homesickness? 

An overarching struggle that many students seem to face while studying abroad is homesickness. This could be triggered from various things such as illness, seeing a dog that reminds you of your dog, something going wrong while traveling, and the list goes on.  One thing that I was really nervous about upon entering my abroad …

Bittersweet Beauty: Making Friends Abroad

This post has been collecting dust for two months now (WHAT?!) and the consequence of my procrastination is that instead of finishing it on a train or in a hostel on the continent, I’m next to my little sister on the couch at our home in Saugatuck where the evening breeze tosses the song of …

Why I Packed My Hiking Boots: Discovering the Heartbeat of Britain

Bueñas Días from Barcelona! I’ve had a fantastic week travelling Spain with Megan Barta, a fellow Hope study-abroader wrapping up her semester in Barcelona. We shared many memorable experiences as we explored the stunning Andalusia region of southern Spain during Semana Santa. From exploring the Sacromonte district in Granada, to visiting La Mezquita in Córdaba, …

Nooks and Crannies of Liverpool

Classes have ended, all my assignments have been turned in, my bags are packed, and my semester in Liverpool has come to a close. I started this blog post on my flight from Switzerland to France and after a lovely three days in Paris, I finished it while en route to Scotland for several days …

Hello Again

Hello. It has been a little while. Let’s catch up. Here is a quick little update. I roasted my first pan of vegetables, and I really enjoyed it. I then roasted my second pan and liked them a little less. I traveled to Ireland to meet up with some amazing friends. Then traveled to Zürich …