While preparing for my semester in Quito, it completely escaped my mind to research the food and eating habits of Ecuador. Based on the meals I had been served in local Mexican and Columbian restaurants at home, I had the misconception that most meals would consist of rice, beans, a protein and vegetables by the side…however, I was totally wrong.

The longest amount of time I’ve spent in Italy is 15 minutes. It was a gas station pit stop in Acceglio (or maybe Canosio?) the summer after my first year of college while I was touring France with a choir from my hometown. Now, I’m starting my last year of college studying abroad in Milan for 16 weeks— pursuing my dual-degree in Creative Writing and Opera & Voice Performance.  

One of the first questions I get when I tell people where I’m studying abroad is: “Why Milan?”

"...And all the men and women merely players." If old Will's claim is true, then I have been in rehearsal for Katie's London Adventures since middle school. It all started with a summer of binge-watching the 2005 movie adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. My best friend and I watched that movie at least once a week, dreaming of the day when we would stroll through the streets of Brighton or cascade down the steps of Pemberly (brooding Mr.

Hello friends. I am about two weeks out from my departure to London and the beginning of my journey abroad. In my program, I’ll be spending three weeks taking a tutorial in London before heading off to Oxford for the rest of the semester. I can confidently say that the phrase “mixed emotions” has never better described how I feel. There are several things that I am both very anxious but very excited for. 

The Tutorial System

The city of Freiburg, Germany awaits! It is hard to believe that after accepting my enrollment in the IES Abroad European Union Program approximately six months ago I would only be one week away from stepping foot in the “Jewel of the Black Forest."

The past couple of weeks have been quite a whirlwind, which is why this last blog post has been delayed for so long. Let’s start where we left off in the last blog post.

My name is Matthew Sill. I am a third-year at Claremont McKenna College and in 5 days I will be making the 14-hour journey to Milan to start my adventures and studies in the economic powerhouse of Italy. I am from a small town on the central coast of California called Arroyo Grande. I love to surf, hike, play sports, and any other outdoor activity you can think of. Although I have not had an immense amount of travel experience in my life, I am eager to see the world and indulge myself in different cultures and foreign environments.

I am off to Nice, France in just a few days and while I am beyond excited, I am also incredibly nervous. I have been dreaming of studying abroad for eons, but once studying abroad became a reality I began to doubt my decision; it had been a dream for so long that I had never considered the actual logistics of going. All of a sudden there seemed like there was so much I had to do; I felt overwhelmed and underprepared.