This past weekend, I had the pleasure of exploring Porto, Portugal – the country’s second-largest city – with a few friends. Porto was a vibrant city with breathtaking views of the ocean, delicious food, and friendly people. I 100% recommend visiting the city. For my first venture outside Spain, I'd say it was a perfect trip. To get to Porto, I took a 5-hour bus ride directly from Salamanca. The journey was exciting in and of itself.
One of the biggest questions I had before arriving in Berlin was whether I would appreciate the architecture. To cut things short, I genuinely do, but in a different way than one would in an older city such as Paris or Vienna. I live in Mitte and just a block away from Kreuzberg. This puts me in the eastern part of the city not far from where the Berlin Wall once stood.
After spending a few weeks in Spain and getting comfortable in my new home, I have had the time to experience Spanish culture and learn what I love about Spain and what I absolutely cannot get used to. To start, as everyone knows, Spain takes a Siesta at 2 p.m. While I love this idea, almost everything closes at 2 p.m. and will not open until 4 p.m. This means if you wanted to go to a store to buy some clothes, you cannot. However, the coffee shops and food stores tend to stay open during this time.
My roommates and I set out recently on our first weekend trip out of the country to visit Edinburgh, Scotland! We spent two days and one night there; it was a really early morning, leaving our apartment at 4:00 am to get to our flight, but it was so worth it. I fell in love with the city! It’s about half the size of Dublin, so it felt very quaint and manageable. The buildings are beautiful, and I couldn’t get enough of walking around the streets and seeing as much as possible.
Many people told me that studying abroad in 2022 meant dealing with a "new normal.” At the time, I brushed it off as a problem to be dealt with later. Yes, I would be wearing masks almost everywhere. but I'm still going to have the picture perfect study abroad experience, right?
To get to Isla Española from San Cristóbal, you must first endure 2 hours of agony.
Two weeks into my studies in Berlin, I feel it is as good a time as any to set my intentions for the semester to come. The Deutsche Hauptstadt feels like an acquaintance with the potential to become a lover in due time. There is a palpable energy coursing through the streets, yet a mellowed day-to-day that I adore. Not that people take their time, but rather no one is in a rush. I feel as if I can cherish the moments as they pass in a way the American hustle-bustle ignores. Perhaps this feeling comes from the novelty of new people and experiences.
One of my biggest fears while embarking on my journey abroad was the language barrier that I would be facing. Although I had taken Spanish before in high school, I was not confident whatsoever in my Spanish speaking skills or even comprehension. I had taken about three years of Spanish but nevertheless was placed in Spanish One after taking the placement test and failing it misreably.
My IES Abroad program is so wonderful because we get to go on multiple excursions as an entire group! These trips allow for new connections and the opportunity to visit places in France we may not have seen otherwise. These trips are through IES Abroad, so we speak en français the entire time ... to the best of our ability.
This past weekend, I most definitely overused the trains. Since my apartment is a little far from the IES Abroad center, I have to take public transit to school everyday. Because of this, most people living in my apartment got unlimited monthly train passes. These passes have, thankfully, given me the freedom to go wherever I please when it comes to Rome.