Though France is beginning to blossom and warm, on Saturday morning I wrapped my fuzzy pastel scarf securely around my neck in preparation for the cooler coastal winds of Saint-Malo and Mont-Saint-Michel. For the third IES field trip of the semester, we headed back to Brittany, the northwestern region of France known for its cider, …
Continue reading “Don’t Sink: Visiting Saint-Malo and Mont-Saint-Michel”
After meandering through The Louvre (see Sightseeing in Paris Pt. 1), my family and I decided to end our second day in Paris by tackling an unusual item on my bucket list: Visiting the Catacombs of Paris. I wouldn’t say the ossuaries deep underneath the bustling city of Paris were high on my bucket list, …
Continue reading “Sightseeing in Paris Pt. 2: The Catacombs”
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a student studying abroad in France must be in want of a trip to Paris. Okay, that’s not quite how Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice begins but it very well could, were it set in modern France— There’s a predictable plot for the next Netflix series set in …
After a few days of exploring the narrow streets and tram lines that shape the city of Nantes, France, we hopped on a bus early Saturday morning for our first field trip: A tour of the Loire Valley châteaux. Over 300 châteaux, or castles, decorate the Loire Valley. Relics of royal courts and the Renaissance, …
Continue reading “Royal Residences: The Loire Valley Châteaux”
48 hours. 48 hours until I say Au revoir! to the suburbs of Chicago and depart for Nantes, France. Well, maybe 54 hours is more accurate since I have a connecting flight in Texas, but my shock is the same. I’m leaving my parents, brother, three cats, and tortoise to travel over 4,000 miles to …
Continue reading “Socks & Suitcases: Preparing to Study Abroad”
Hello, everyone! I am writing this post from my couch, safe and sound, back in my home state of Michigan. Looking back on my time in Japan, I’ve had a lot of things on my to-do list that I haven’t been able to do due to distance, construction, or time/money restraints, and I did get …
Sickness masks. Keep the germs contained! Escalator etiquette. One half stands to the side, the other half is a passing lane. I’ve never felt more satisfied. I’ve already mentioned this in a previous post, but: THE TOILETS. So cool. Packaging. Like, nice packaging. Japan would scoff at America’s put-it-in-a-bag-with-some-tissue-paper-on-top mentality. Yuzu. They’re a type of …
Continue reading “15 Things Japan Has That America Should, Too”
A few months ago, my fellow dormmates/classmates/exchange students and I went on a field trip with our Japanese language professors to Hakone, a famous location for foreigners and Japanese people alike. Hakone is famous for its hot springs, lake, shrine, and special black hard boiled eggs (naturally boiled in the hot springs, giving it its …
Here is the second part of the apartment tour! Meiji Gakuin University provides an apartment building for all the exchange students, located in a nearby residential area. The reason for this is because Japanese universities do not provide housing, since many students find it more easy to commute by train from their homes. So this …
Hello there! Welcome back to the blog! This post will be a little more brief, as I wanted to quickly share a few daily life changes that I’ve experienced, or that tend to happen while you’re living in Japan. The first difference made in my routine from day 1 was my sleep schedule. I woke …
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