If you’re bored in London, you’re doing it wrong. Here’s my ultimate bucket list of things to do and see around London – all of which I have done and would happily do again:

When I arrive in Ecuador, only 12 days will have passed since the end of my fall finals period. Now halfway through those 12 days, I doubt I will look back on this time as a period of rest. The quick turnaround definitely has its perks– after all, I can barely contain my excitement and am  itching to go– but it’s also a bit overwhelming. There’s a lot to be done.

About a week and a half ago my IES program ended. My new friends flew back home for the holidays and a new semester in the States. I said goodbye to my favorite professors and started thinking about finding the best presents to bring home to family and friends and imagining the excitement of arriving home at SeaTac airport, met at baggage claim by my family.

(Sung to the tune of 12 Days of Christmas)

On my first week in England, IES gave to me

A single bed in Chapter Kings Cross

On my second week in England, IES gave to me

Two trips to Scotland

and a single bed in Chapter Kings Cross

On my third week in England, IES gave to me

Three Oyster cards

Two trips to Scotland

and a single bed in Chapter Kings Cross

On my fourth week in England, IES gave to me

While sitting in the kitchen of my dear friend’s West Philly apartment, he asked my favorite thing about Vienna. I had to think because there are so many things to love. After a few minutes, I settled on music. “It was so meaningful being a place where music, particularly classical music, is culturally valued and widely accessible,” I told him. I love that music history is alive in Vienna— how I could visit Mozart’s apartment and see some of his original scores.

Going Home

Well, the semester has come to a close - I’ve left Nantes and have found myself sitting once again in the comfortable atmosphere of a Starbucks, settling down to type this blog along with the nice cafe Christmas music, snacking on a pain au chocolat, looking out at all the terraced apartments lining the streets…. 

Wait, pain au chocolat? Terraced apartments? If your detective skills have led you to believe that maybe I am not in the US after all, you would be right! 

I’ll always remember my professor’s words when we asked for his opinion on being an expat in Shanghai: He told us being here is being in a liminal space.

Does anyone know what liminal means? He asked the class.

All of us shook our heads.

Three walls stand strong around me 

and the ceiling is braided with Ivy, so I can see the stars. 

When dark clouds block the sun and storms spin themselves above my head, my ceiling will let the rain in. 

It will soak everything. The floodwater will rise and I will feel like I’m drowning, 

but I’ve been through this before. 

The water will recede and besides its not about me, the soil will be better for it. 

Chicken Noodle Soup

The afternoon was rather sunny 

but there was a harsh wind blowing 

and the sneaky creepy cold found its way into my bones,

seizing my warmth and my cheer.

So I sipped from the soup in my bowl, and 

the broth banished any chill, it’s warmth 

seeping through my 

cup and the cardboard

ring trying 

to contain it,

into my hands and down my throat,

On one of the outdoor walls of the IES Center, a beautiful quote is written in Moroccan Arabic that discusses the virtues of travel and acquainting ourselves with the unknown. As a student, one of the greatest privileges I’ve enjoyed is the ability to immerse myself in new experiences.