I am very fortunate and thankful that I chose to study in Berlin. The city has so much to offer in the form of history, music, food, and activities. One thing to note is that Berlin prefers transactions the old-fashioned way: with cash instead of credit card. Make sure to always have euros ready because many places do not take credit card.  It is almost overwhelming how much there is to do especially when the weather is getting warmer. I struggle between going to my favorite food places and trying new places.

So, to begin, I feel like it’s worth noting that if you’re the type of person to look up “What-To-Bring” lists, this probably wasn’t your first stop in determining what to bring and not to bring to Dublin.

It’s surreal to me that I have now spent two months of my life on the Island of San Cristóbal. Although I have visited several other islands, this island is near and dear to my heart. It’s where I got my first sunburn, ate my first sea snails, and of course, saw my first boobies (the blue-footed versions, of course). Although the atmosphere is very laid back, I have been lucky enough to travel all around the island and experience what this wonderland has to offer.

Hi Everyone! It has officially been a week since I returned to Freiburg from my member states trip to Lisbon, Rome, and Madrid. First, let me start off by saying that this week has been difficult getting back into work mode when my mindset was still in Lisbon. If you've read my previous blog post about creating a budget while abroad, you can tell that Lisbon is my favorite European city.

We are already almost at mid-semester break here at the University of Auckland. It’s crazy how time flies. I feel like I just arrived yesterday, but I have already done so much in these past six weeks. This includes exploring Auckland in different ways. I am mostly doing this by going outside my comfort zone to try new things.

Studying abroad involves immersing yourself in a new economy, which brings new challenges, rules, and strategies for managing money. Especially with the constant temptation to splurge on once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, tracking the money I spend and maintaining a budget has been crucial to ensuring I don’t go broke while in Buenos Aires. These are some tips I have used while abroad to save money and stay organized.

I am completely overwhelmed with Berlin.  A (not so) brief breakdown of my experience:

As a student studying abroad in my second year of college, instead of the more common third year option, some of my classmates and friends have asked why I made the choice to head overseas “early.” I had so many reasons to spend sophomore year in Spain—here are some that had the biggest impact on my decision.  

1. Language Immersion

Last weekend, I did something very out of character: I booked a trip less than a week in advance to a place I'd never heard of, and went. Alone. As someone with anxiety, traveling in and of itself is not easy—just a week prior to this trip I had a full-on meltdown in the London Gatwick airport, and I wasn't even traveling alone. So how did this anxious traveler end up in the Canary Islands alone? Well, I saw in my calendar that I had a free few days between exams, so I decided to check Skyscanner for flights.