In one of my IES Abroad courses, 20th Century Argentine Poetry, we had the opportunity to write a poem and perform it at the IES Abroad 2019 Symposium. Two of my friends and I were inspired to create a poem in the same style as "Shinto" by Jorge Luis Borges. Shinto is a Japanese religion where they worship Kamis, which are gods that are the spirits of each and every object and action. Everything has a spirit in the Shinto religion, from the colors of a map to the smell of a library.

Hi everyone! I am so excited to be an IES Abroad Correspondent this summer. I am doing the Tradition & Cuisine in Tuscany program in Siena this summer! It will be my first time in Italy and my first time learning Italian. Why did I choose Siena? I chose Siena because I wanted to avoid more crowded and touristy cities and study abroad in a place that would allow me to have a truly authentic Italian experience.

When studying abroad and enjoying all of the amazing new things that are coming your way, it can be quite easy to forget about taking care of your mental health. You’re in a new place with new people, possibly speaking a different language. This is stressful even if you don’t feel stressed out.

Having never left this country before, packing to travel all the way to South Africa started out as an undoubtedly stressful task. I've never been on a flight longer than four hours, and other than college, I've never been away from home for more than a week. My program in Cape Town, South Africa is seven weeks long, and the journey there will consist of three separate flights, totaling over 25 hours of travel time. Though I am fairly prepared now, I can still think back on how stressed those numbers made me back when it all started.

“Buenos días, doctora.” Good morning, doctor. The first couple times I heard it, I assumed it was addressed to one of the many doctors bustling through the hallways of Hospital Sótero del Río. After several weeks, I continued to hear it—walking through swinging doors unaccompanied or on my way out of a unit. “Chao, doctora, que esté bien.” Goodbye, doctor, take care. It was directed at me, I realized, suddenly conscious of the white coat the program required that I wear during my weekly clinical observation in Sótero.

So you've decided to study abroad. It's fall of your junior year, and you're gearing up for your spring semester away. Summer seems too far off to think about, and so you put off your internship search until spring, assuming you'll have time while you're away to figure it out.

If this sounds like you, read on.

My friends and I went to Northern Argentina this past weekend. This has been one of the trips I've been most looking forward to, as Northern Argentina is known for both its culture and natural beauty. I talked to my host family before leaving, who said that Northern Argentina is like a country of its own when compared to the province of Buenos Aires. The provinces of Salta and Jujuy have far more people who are indigenous to Argentina than the province of Buenos Aires.

I am enjoying my summer study abroad program so much. The immigration classes I take are interesting because they are offering me a new scholarly perspective on an issue that I typically approach sociologically. My program is made up of a super small group of girls, so we do just about everything together, from eating meals to movie nights and even travelling. Recently, we had a long weekend, so the six of us headed to Milan for a quick getaway to a bigger Italian city.

The last time I was in France (2015), I did some travelling within the country, but I never made it to the south. Now that I am back, I wanted to make sure I could see at least one city in the south of France, and I finally did! A few friends and I headed down to Marseille for the weekend, and it was a everything I hoped it would be.

The three-hour train ride was smooth and comfortable, but I didn’t get much sleep looking at the countryside through the window. This reminded me a lot of home and my drives from New York to Penn State.

As I sit in my apartment living room next to an unrivaled view of the financial district, I find it hard to believe that I have only been in Shanghai for a week now.