Cape Town has a number of outdoor activities that one could consider 'dangerous' but a boat to Seal Island is definitely not one of them. Or so I thought. I can tell you that I was not really looking to pull a Titanic moment when the Captain said that the waves were quite rough but we were going to continue on anyway. There was a slight moment when I realized that this was the actual ocean we were going into, not little old Lake Michigan with its dinky little waves.

Remember when you were a kid stuck in the car without a phone on a family road trip? Driving on the Garden Route is kind of the same thing. It was long, flat, and we were driving on the wrong side of the road. There was a moment where we all realized that tuning into our phones and listening to music really wasn’t as fun as one might think. Tuning out the world while exploring it was not really the way to go. Instead of being bored and staring out the window, we started the 1st South African Thumb War Championship. It was intense.

It is currently Sunday afternoon, July 28th. It hasn’t even been 24 hours since over half of my group of friends left for America, and I already miss them. Shrinking from a group of nine to four adds an unexpectedly large feeling of loneliness and vulnerability. I have never steadily hung out with the same people for such a long period of time. We have shared eight weeks full of memories. We did everything together, from eating meals, exploring the city, or just hanging out in the apartments.

My six weeks in Dublin were the most incredible weeks of my life.  But, alas, all good things must come to an end, and I have been back in America for exactly a week.  I've given all my gifts, displayed my souvenirs, and unpacked my incredibly overweight suitcase.  Now that I'm fully acclimated to life as I knew it, I've had time to reflect on my time in Ireland, and there's a lot of things that I wish I knew before I went abroad.

Compared to my other friends who are not Chinese, my study abroad experience has not been drastically different. I have not experienced any blatant racism or been treated as if I were inferior. Occasionally, locals will ask me what ethnicity I am and where I come from, but they are not trying to be offensive. I do imagine that growing up in the U.S. and being an English speaker helps my situation since the culture norms in Europe are not significantly different from the U.S. and most people speak at least a tiny bit of English.

I arrived home to Indiana six days ago on July 20 to what I can only describe as an overwhelming sense of both relief and regret. On the drive from the Indianapolis airport before my eyes appeared, in all its glory, a monstrous six-wheeled dual-exhaust lifted truck with diesel fumes spewing out both sides in a cloud of black-grey haze. I thought, "Oh wow! A truck!

Ten hours later and the wait was finally over. Even though I was fulfilling one of my life’s goals by studying in London, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. There’s no book, YouTube video, or friend’s experience that can prepare. All I had to do was figure my way through the maze of Heathrow airport to receive my short-term student stamp and it would be smooth sailing from there.

Amsterdam is a city that offers a unique experience of food. From traditional foods like stroopwafel, apple pies, and pancakes to street food like kaas souffles, the food in the city is phenomenal. Amsterdam is a city with years of history and diversity in culture. These factors are reflected in their food. Food is a part of everyday life, and when traveling food can be an essential part of experiencing culture. For me, tasting new foods and explorung the unique food culture of Amsterdam was an essential part of the trip.

One of the first things we did as a group on our free day out was head over to Lion's Head Mountain to go hiking. Despite the fact that everyone said this was the easiest mountain to climb, our understanding of the word "easy" soon changed. Our group of mostly out-of-shape Americans got passed by literally every child, dog, and elderly person in Cape Town before we reached the top. I'm a fairly active person but this hike changed my idea of a "casual" weekend hike.

Amongst the flowers, the pools of water,

The lily pads,

The swans and geese, 

The greenery enchanted my soul and made me feel at peace. 

The birds chirped and sang songs of the tunes people whistled before us...

Here, on this ground, lie the Kew Gardens.

Kew Gardens 

A place where majesty and nobility join together to welcome you into the throng.

See the glass palace where the mists kiss your cheeks and the palm trees tickle your nose.