Though my mediocre Spanish has definitely gotten better since I’ve arrived in Galapagos, I still find myself confused frequently. Whether it be because someone speaks too quietly, too fast, or because I simply don’t know the vocab. Though there is somewhere where the language barrier doesn’t really matter (though it can sometimes help for arguing penalties) and it’s the soccer field! Before leaving for the program, I hadn’t played soccer on an organized team since almost seven years ago, and soccer in general for maybe three or four years.

Just on the outer edge of the city, at the end of a winding path, seated on top of a grassy hill, is the stone shell of what was the meeting place of the Dublin Hellfire Club. 

Picture this— I’m making my way down the hallways of a Berlin apartment building with another IES Abroad student, taking care not to draw too much attention to myself. My eyes dart across each door sign, looking for a name matching the one I was provided over Facebook Messenger.

I don’t really have a clear face for the person I’m looking for, but that’s not really the important part of this operation. They have something I want, and I’m here to get it.

Have you ever read Shakespeare? Maybe you read Romeo and Juliet in high school. Well...today we’ll be talking about Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. In Act 3 Scene 1, Prince Hamlet is contemplating death and suicide while acknowledging how painful human life is, not quite realizing that the alternative may be worse. The phrase “to be or not to be” means to live or to die.

If you were to be me for a day abroad, trust me, you would have a blast!!!! Let's start by talking about community, because that's something you are always going to have wherever you go. I found an amazing community not only within the program, but also locally. I made local friends that got me connected with other people and now I'm involved in activities I have never tried before, including a make your own clothes workshop where I sew clothes from scratch. I am always willing to take risks and learn something new, even when I am afraid.

Ah, food. When most people look forward to traveling, they are looking forward to seeing the sights, meeting new people and—let’s be honest—trying good food. As a serial snacker who loves trying out all of the seasonal snacks at my local stores, I was definitely interested in seeing what the snack scene in Spain had to offer. The first couple of weeks here I played it pretty safe and stuck to snacks that looked familiar like cookies from Galletanas Granada and pastries from small bakeries.

A few days into my study abroad in Madrid, we have our first IES Abroad field trip to Segovia. Waking up early to head to the meeting point, my friends and I gather in the lobby of our residence hall at 8am. Stepping outside, I’m immediately disoriented. The streets are quiet and the sky is dark—the sun just barely beginning to rise. I check the time on my phone to reassure myself and marvel at the dimness of the sky. 

7 hours to departure:

On a last minute CVS trip to pick up extra masks and mini toiletries, I strike up a conversation with the cashier at the checkout. Clued in by my travel-themed purchases, she asks me if I have any trips planned. Eager—as I have been for months —to tell anyone who will listen, I share my plans for heading to the airport for my international flight out of Newark, New Jersey, later that day. As the words spill out of my mouth, I watch a worried look twitch across her face.

I really should have believed people when they said that time would fly by while I was here. The first week was a little slow because we were all wandering around a bit and waiting for classes to start but since then we’ve been in overdrive. Recently we went on a four-day trip to one of the other islands, Santa Cruz, with our Techniques of Marine Research II class.

I am actually in France, I am really unsure how this honestly came to be, but I am actually here and living in France. It only hit me the other morning while I was sitting outside, eating breakfast and I just sat for a moment, wide eyed in awe of the fact that I really did it. I have spent the weeks waiting to wake from a dream, like I’ve strayed too far and found myself following a yellow brick road.