Dinner is a big deal in my host family; it’s a time for everyone to gather together and it’s not unusual that we spend an hour or an hour and a half at the dinner table eating and talking. The meals are usually delicious and languid. However, one night at dinner, I scarfed down three crepes without even noticing and I hardly managed to slow down to savor my fourth crepe. By the time my host mom turned to offer me a fifth crepe I was stuffed… and I was also stuck, I realized that I did not know how to refuse her offer of more food.

I have had type one diabetes since I was four years old, so it’s safe to say I cannot even remember a time when I was not living with diabetes. My relationship with diabetes has not always been great; I spent the first ten or so years of my life with diabetes feeling resentful and frustrated towards it. My diabetes management got so bad that my doctors started to warn me that my bodily functions would start to shut down if I did not change something soon.

Rome is an amazing city, but sometimes it’s nice to get outside the city for a weekend to experience some of the other unique places in Italy. Recently, I went on a day trip to the famous Eurochocolate festival in Perugia, the capital city of the Umbria region!

“So all of you are in favor of independence?”

They nod, then one qualifies, “Well I’m not really for independence, but the Spanish gobernment, es… the gobernment it’s, crap. Is crap.” 

Another seconds, “It’s not really about independence it’s about—” the boom of fireworks interrupts— “it’s about democracy” he says with timid pride. 

If you aren’t proficient in Spanish, then living or traveling to a Spanish-speaking country can be a daunting task. You may be afraid that you won’t be understood, will be made fun of, and/or be filled with anxiety due to the culture shock. In the Summer of 2018, I was fortunate enough to go to an IES Abroad program in Quito, Ecuador. I had minor experience with the Spanish language because I studied it in school and had friends who I conversed with it, but I didn’t feel proficient enough to survive in a Spanish-speaking country.

I just returned from a weeklong trip through Austria and Switzerland! I traveled with a few women in my program––Sophie from the University of Southern California, Annabelle from Emory University, and Ania from Georgetown University––and had a blast visiting cities and towns in central Europe. I have created a list of my favorite and least favorite things about the trip, in case you ever visit those places!

Vienna:

国庆快乐！

Happy National Day!

Greta Thunberg set the world on fire when she began to skip school to draw attention to climate change. In the few weeks since students across the globe held their own school strikes, Extinction Rebellion has taken over London. Extinction Rebellion is an environmental activist group that participates in civil disobedience in order to protest the way our governments have been approaching climate change.

The loss of a loved one isn’t easy to cope with no matter where you are in the world, but when you’re miles away from home in another country without your family, friends, and usual support network to help you through it, it can feel especially overwhelming. In the middle of midterms this week, I found out that my grandmother’s brain surgery did not go well and that she will most likely not survive it. Currently, she’s in a coma in the hospital. Needless to say, it’s been a bit difficult to focus on midterms.