Berlin & Prague

IES EU sets apart 21 days during our time abroad to travel as a program to different cities around the EU with the purpose of comprehending the current status and the inner workings of this intricate nation-state partnership. They break the time down into 3 separate segments and in September I had the chance to …

San Pedro de Atacama

Sorry about the flood of blog posts, but I was on a vacation, so I didn’t get an opportunity to write earlier! I just got back from San Pedro de Atacama, which is a city in the desert of northern Chile, and wow, I had a blast. Initially I didn’t want to go because I didn’t …

Festival de Mil Tambores

A week ago, I was a part of something awesome! There was a festival called Mil Tambores, or a Thousand Drums. It was a weekend long event, and it was so much fun! It’s been going on for fifteen years, and it’s just a celebration of happiness here in Valparaiso, Chile! Friday there were poetry …

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. …

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 …

Fiestas Patrias

September 18 and 19, Chile celebrates its Independence. Although most activities really take place on the 18th and 19th, school shut down two days before that, so I did not have class that entire week! It was quite a fun cultural experience. First off, everybody has asados, or “grill-outs,” kind of like Fourth of July …

A Quick Visit to the Capital City

Hola a todos! This past week has been such a blast! Like always my Monday and Wednesday class-filled days have been quite long, but I never seem to dread them. I suppose the pure fact that I am able to be in Spain while attending school helps with that aspect. On Thursday, after their week …

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 …

Fish Fry

On Wednesday, a friend and I went to a fogata, which is Spanish for “bonfire.” The fishermen in Valparaiso put it on once or twice a year. It involves lots of food, a giant fire, and good music. My family told me about it and I wanted to go, so I dragged a friend along. …

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 …