Part of why I chose to join the Milan study abroad program from IES Abroad was their existing partnership with local universities. Students are allowed to take up to two courses from any partner university included as part of the program cost. Usually students choose this route in order to take classes that may be required for their degree but are not offered by IES Abroad themselves. It also gives you the chance to see how the post-secondary education system works here in Milan, and how it differs from the US post-secondary education system.

The first load of laundry is now emitting some humidity from a drying rack, and 10 days in Siena are now firmly in the realm of memory. Yet this semester is all future. 10 days in the charm of this city, under the certainty of its centuries-old structures and millennia-old history, and 10 days of material outsizing the space of a single blog, and all that’s left is promise.

Une autre grève…C’est la vie en France, oui? And today it’s true as France has entered the longest nationwide strike in decades. La grève is a strike—and since I have arrived in France, there has been weekly strikes that affect everything from Paris to Nice (where I am studying). Buses, trams, metros, trains and airports: these are some of the places that are impacted by the strikes. The strikes are an attempt by public sector workers to show their dissatisfaction with the government’s plan to change the French pension system.

The weirdest part about my study abroad experience so far has been explaining to everyone who asks how the semester split works in Japan. To be clear, I don’t profess to be an expert about it myself, but I do know that the Japanese spring semester typically begins in April, rather than January. This has left me in the unique position of being a student with no classes to take until I depart for Japan in late March. But what am I supposed to do with my life until then? How should I spend this three-month limbo?

Here in Ecuador’s central valley, it seems every direction you turn points towards some fantastical adventure. The twin ridge lines squeezing the valley’s waist each hold a couple volcanic peaks each, and roads snake up from Quito’s suburban sprawl into stunted elfin forest, terraced pasture, and dew-laden paramo. High Andean lakes glitter up there, their baby blue water stirred by glacier-chilled winds, and beneath them cloud banks feed the mosses that cover every inch of available wood.

I don’t know what I did in my mother’s womb to deserve the life I have today, but I couldn’t be more thankful. I have been able to see so much of this world in such a short amount of time, and I could rave for hours upon hours about each destination (Switzerland coming first to mind because I just had the craziest experience paragliding there this weekend).

I arrived in Spain a little less than two weeks ago. This morning, someone from the IES Abroad program recognized me from my blog, but other than that I am having quite a nice time here. I will recap the big events since the last time I posted, and then I’ll tell you about some important new words I’ve learned here.

American colleges everywhere love athletics. Even the small liberal arts school I attend packs the stands for a few football games every year (which is shocking given our 4-23 record over my three years of attendance). A typical Sunday will involve students galivanting across the dining hall adorning the Patriots logo from head to toe. These students then face disapproving glares or cheerful comradery from fellow students and even sometimes faculty.

After I made the decision to study abroad, my college required that I attend an orientation session detailing what to expect going forward. As part of this orientation, the study abroad staff invited ambassadors, students who formerly studied abroad and returned gushing about their experience, to speak to us about the many ups and downs of spending a semester in another country. One of these ambassadors, a history major who studied in Rome, managed to open my eyes to all that I had to look forward to.

After a week of orientation, it was time to start exploring the city. I also needed groceries, so what better way to get to know Rome than visit some of the markets? We visited two markets in the Prati neighborhood. Our morning started at Mercato dell'unità, the smaller of the two markets before heading a few blocks away to Mercato Trionfale. Mercato Trionfale is a sprawling market near the Vatican where you can get everything from fresh produce to cheese to meat and even cleaning supplies.