For the past couple weeks, I’ve been working on a research project on refugees in Berlin and the need for redesigned urban infrastructure to accommodate forcibly displaced people and families. Germany has the highest immigration rate, both total and per capita, in all of Europe. With this in mind, my laptop has been filled with tabs upon tabs of journals and articles from the World Economic Forum and City Lab. Of course, as I’m in Berlin, I’m also using the city itself as a way to learn more deeply about how refugees are settling in.

Some might say that buying two plane tickets and booking a hostel three days before a flight are irresponsible and rash decisions. I, a study abroad student in Berlin, call it spontaneity and “I am only a college student studying abroad in Europe once.” Last weekend I woke up at 5:45 a.m., got dressed, and took the U7 route on the U-Bahn to Shönefeld airport, the uglier and more frustrating of the two relatively mediocre Berlin airports. I landed in Madrid at noon after a three-hour flight and headed straight to my hostel.

I’ve managed to survive just over one month living abroad, and the countdown to leave has begun. Along with the seven other people I’ve lived with, we’ve managed to form quite the positive experience here in Dublin. At first it was a test of adaptation and a game of who would dare to figure out the rules nearly everywhere we went. For example, the first morning we arrived it was decided we all desperately needed to visit the grocery store across the street from our housing named Lidl.

A girl.

A gun.

Her gun.

First the Great Wall, and now more mountains! This past weekend, I embarked on a trip to Yellow Mountain, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This mountain is regarded as the loveliest mountain of China, and I can confirm. Even when we were two hours away from the mountain, I could feel its presence. There was a calming atmosphere surrounding the area. The smaller mountains along the way broke up low-looming clouds and fog, preparing us for the grand display. Humble towns emerged from the valleys as we weaved our way along the landscape.

I’m back in the states and still jetlagged. I’ve been reflecting on my time abroad and I have no regrets. In many ways, being abroad felt like I was gone for years, but now that I am back, it feels as though I left for New Zealand yesterday. It was such a short time period that was packed with so much experience that when I think back on everything, I find it hard to believe that it all was possible in a span of five months.

Here are some lessons I learned and some advice I would give anyone going abroad.

After leaving New Zealand towards the end of June, I have been home for about two and a half weeks now. The adjustment has been somewhat strange; however, being home and back in warm weather has made the transition much easier than I anticipated. Not only this, but being able to come back and share all my memories and travels during my time abroad has also been very enjoyable, simply by being able to relive all the amazing moments and trips I had been able to experience during my time in New Zealand.

As my days start to dwindle in the place that so quickly became my home a little under five months ago, I have just begun visiting all my favorite places around Christchurch for the last time. It has been such a rare, unique experience for me, and I really could not imagine studying anywhere else. For anyone considering studying abroad, do it. You are going to challenge yourself in ways you never thought you needed and are going to grow in so many ways you had not even thought about prior.

A couple months later, and here I am, back in the United States. I can’t say I was excited to leave, but I had an absolutely lovely and meaningful last week, saying goodbye to all of the people and places that made my time in Santiago everything that it turned out to be.