A little over 10 months ago I decided to become a vegetarian and haven’t really looked back since. I generally don’t ever feel restricted, but I was a little anxious before studying abroad for a number of reasons. Navigating eating out with friends, getting enough nutrition and budgeting were my main concerns. Thankfully it proved to be easier than I anticipated!

It has been four weeks since I returned home to Sri Lanka following the abrupt end of my time abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Amsterdam feels like a lifetime away. I am so lucky and privileged to have had the opportunity that I did. But goodbyes are never easy. Especially the ones that come before their time. So of course, I expected to mourn this loss; all the could-have-been experiences and the friendships that were still budding.

Note: This is a follow up to my last post, How It All Went Wrong, Part 1. For context, you should read it before you read this.

Getting the email that my IES Abroad program was suspended was surreal. I knew other programs were being canceled around the world, but that would never happen to me, right? I told myself that it’s probably not a for sure thing, they’ll probably give us some sort of option. It couldn’t all be over after just three weeks of what was supposed to be a four-month program. I went over to my friend’s apartment and we slowly came to the heart-wrenching realization that the email was very straightforward. There was no gray-area.

I was absolutely thrilled when my mom came to visit me the week after February break; from when I left in early January to when I saw her again in early March was the longest I’ve ever gone without seeing her in person. Coming off a very busy week-long break, I had a somewhat outlined plan for the week that, at least for the most part, went to plan. My mom arrived on Saturday morning, so I met her at Charles de Gaulle airport and we drove to our first destination: Disneyland Paris.

Zurich was the last weekend trip of my study abroad experience. Although I had others planned, they were unfortunately canceled due to the pandemic. However, I wouldn't have wanted to end my experience any other way. This trip was so special to me because it was spent with family. Up until that weekend, I had lived in Barcelona surrounded solely by people that I had met in the previous two months. So to have my cousins pick me up from the airport and welcome me into their home was so wonderful. 

I had the pleasure of visiting the beautiful Spanish island of Mallorca for the first time in February. My highschool friend Jess, who was studying in Madrid at the time, met me at the airport in Palma, the capital of Mallorca. We stayed in a youth hostel in the heart of the city. Our weekend revolved around enjoying the sun by the sea. It was a much needed, relaxing weekend because leading up to the trip, Jess and I had been traveling around Europe every weekend while attending class during the week.

In my time in Europe, something I was especially aware of is people's attitude towards race in Spain and Europe in comparison to the United States. As expected, I found that racism takes different forms than in the United States, however, there are consistencies in their ability to recognize racism.