Leaps of Faith

I’ve been in Ecuador for a little over three weeks now and it’s amazing to think about the experiences I have already had and how they have changed me. I am still observing everything around me and am trying to make sense of cultural differences, but so far it has been an adventure that I’m …

Bienvenue à Paris!

Today marks the end of my first week in Paris with the IES French Studies program. I left for France a few days before the program started to travel with my sister who studies in Menton. After three flights and a bus ride, we arrived in Menton on Saturday,  January 14. Menton is close to …

A Weekend in Mindo

This past weekend I traveled with fourteen other people from my program to Mindo. Mindo is a quaint little town located north of Quito in the Andean foothills. We arrived in Mindo on Friday morning after a two hour bus ride and went straight to our hostel, Bio Hostal. This was my first experience staying …

Welcome to Ecuador

One week ago I left everything comfortable behind to embark on a 4 1/2 month journey to Quito, Ecuador. I left my home, family, friends, favorite foods, the snow (not too sad about that one), and the all of the security that comes through those things. I’m now living in a new country where the language, …

Dealing with life abroad

Today I want to talk about a topic that may be a little different from traveling, learning, and culture within Germany. That being how to cope with difficult times while you’re abroad. If you are anything like me I know it is always hard to admit that something might be wrong and even worse when …

My Disneyland

If you went to Disney World as a child you know that feeling of happiness, courage and just a whole lot of excitement the minute you set foot in the park. After all, Disney is the place where all of your dreams come true. Well, imagine that same feeling, add 15 years to my age …

Porto, Portugal!

Porto is a city of color, history, intrinsic structures, diversity, nightlife, wine and amazing food. This trip has been the first time I have ever set foot on Portuguese soil.     First impression of Porto, it is a maze city! It requires you to have some sort of a map to get around (I …

One whole week of class!

The hard work has begun… After traveling for so long we have finally been forced to sit in a classroom and learn. However, I must say that taking classes even till 8pm is not hard to do when you enjoy every single one of your classes. Most of my classes are on topics that I …

A Historical Time Capsule

Walking through the streets of Berlin, Germany, and Prague, Czech Republic, was a walk through history. Looking back to high school and college history courses some of the most talked about topics are WWI, WWII, and the Cold War. To an extent you, as well as I, could consider ourselves well acquainted with the events. …

“You are officially German!”

“You are officially German!” A local told me after mentioning to him three of my newest experiences here in Freiburg. What qualifies me to be part of the Freiburg community you may wonder? The answer is: going to the Farmers Market, eating Rindswurst and taking my first hike in the Black Forest. Freiburg’s Farmers Market …