From pizza in Italy and Spanish paella, to waffles in Copenhagen and vegetable tajin in Morocco, our stomachs were never empty and our taste buds were never bored! Abroad is definitely the time to be adventurous with your food choices and try all of the traditional dishes in the places you travel to. I also highly recommend trying out some cooking classes, even if you aren’t the best cook or don’t particularly enjoy it, because you can meet new people, learn how locals cook, and it’s just fun!

The students here always say that they’re having a great time. Last weekend was always the best of their lives, expect for next weekend of course— that’ll be even better. Everyone is always a little behind on work, spending a little too much money, sleeping several hours too few but reminding all of their new acquaintances how incredible their lives are.

Charlie is sitting in the same place I left him last week, and as I walk into La Carpa Bar, he begins to sing, “A hummm, duhh, dumm, doo, mi mm mmmm mm may Sharona!” 

“Charlie…” Alex warns from behind the bar. His brow is cross as he dries another Estrella Damm mug and places it below with the others. Efraín continues to grill, entirely undisturbed. 

While walking to class, I get stopped at a red pedestrian light in Plaza Cataluña and am quickly swallowed by a crowd of mostly white faces. They chatter in German, English, French, and a few others I can’t quite identify. A red double decker bus chugs past with an array of greying hair, pointing fingers, and camera straps peering over the sides, listening dutifully to the speakers booming from every corner that explain the social importance of the city’s largest square.

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.