Holidays are a time that you sit around with friends and family sharing memories and traditions that make you feel at home. But maybe this year you won’t be home for the holidays. It is very likely that while you are abroad you will experience at least one holiday away from home. Being away when all your friends and families are celebrating without you can be hard. You will probably be homesick and that is okay.

One of the best parts of living in Europe is how easy it is to travel. You have the ability to see so much and experience so many different cultures for relatively cheap. If you budget your time and money well enough you can cover a lot of ground. If you can find a study abroad program that offers course travel built into your schedule like the European Union program...even better. For our last course-related trip I was able to travel to London, Belfast, Dublin, and Stockholm.

It’s hard to believe that we only have two more weeks left in Barcelona, which has lead to a lot of nostalgia about the past three months, and also the steady realization of everything I have to get done in such a short amount of time. Sadly, my weekend travels have officially come to an end, but now I get the chance to explore some of the things in Barcelona that I have not gotten to yet, like Tibidabo and going to a fútbol game.

Taking photos of London is one of my favorite pastimes, and I’ve put together a list to share some of my favorite spots with you! Whether you are looking to capture unique views of the city or the perfect picturesque hangout spot, you have come to the right place. Don’t brush aside some of these places just because you have heard of them before. While some of these locations may be well-known and popular, they are iconic for a reason! Here are my ten most instagrammable spots in London:

On my flight back to Australia I created a list in my phone notes titled “upon return” that listed all the things I had to do, “upon return” - as is self-explanatory. Now I am home starting to tick things off my list like Christmas shopping, bonding with my family, etc. I am getting my spring classes in order and I am feeling relaxed as opposed to the feeling I have of constantly being on my feet when I am traveling or living abroad. As I settle into being home, I can not help but feel a strange way.

“What’s been the most difficult aspect of acclimating to life in Morocco?”

“The food?” Nope. “The bathrooms?” Sometimes. “Living in the Old Medina?” Getting warmer.

The hardest - and most fascinating - change I’ve experienced is the shift in perspectives regarding women in Moroccan culture. 

One chilly, grey Saturday morning 20+ IES Abroad students lined up in the dark at 7:30 am outside of the IES Abroad Center for a day-trip. As I stood with them, anticipation ran through me, not only to experience the unique marine cities of Saint-Malo and Mont-Saint Michel but also to finally see the ocean once again.

Rewind to one year ago, before I studied abroad: If there was one constant whenever I asked someone about studying abroad, it’s that somehow every single person had the perfect experience. If asking a peer, it is likely that you’ve heard stories with some choice phrases such as ‘best semester of my life’ or ‘a life-changing experience.’ I am not to say that those statements are false, but I do feel that there is neglected conversation around the challenges that accompany a study abroad experience.

Over the Thanksgiving Holiday, my friends and I traveled to Madrid to eat our way through the city and explore the plethora of museums, plazas, restaurants, stores, and parks. We paid 40 euros (can you believe it? Ryanair.com has the best flights) for a two-way ticket from Rabat, and booked an Airbnb in the Sol neighborhood for 71 dollars per person for three nights.

“I am experienced enough to do this. I am knowledgeable enough to do this. I am prepared enough to do this. I am mature enough to do this. I am brave enough to do this.” - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Knock Down The House.