It is crazy to say that another month of this European adventure has almost come and gone. Despite classes starting in full swing and February being a short month as it is, I took advantage of travelling every weekend (beginning with Amsterdam) and continuing onwards to Genoa and Barcelona- all the while my love for travel continuing to grow monumentally.

This past weekend I traveled to Paris with a few of my friends. None of us had to been to Paris before and we were beyond excited. Early in the morning we stopped by a local bakery to get pastries for our jampacked day of sightseeing. Our first stop was the Eiffel Tower. It was so surreal for all of us that we spent about two hours taking pictures. What made it even better was that the sun was shining and it wasn’t too crowded. Next, we headed to the Arc de Triomphe and followed that up by stopping by the infamous Laudrée for some macarons.

Although my first class, called Wildlife Conservation Biology, lasted three weeks, only around five days within that span were actually in the classroom. As with most of the people in this program, I believe that the best learning doesn’t happen in a classroom, and I am so grateful that this philosophy is taken so seriously in my classes here.

With 10 free days to travel Europe, we embarked on trains, planes, and ferries to get a glimpse into places we had only seen in photos. While there is undeniable knowledge and pride in being a local, the marvel of being a tourist cannot be replicated. Fortunate for my experiences and empathetic to the troubles of travelers, this trip will always exist in my mind in fleeting snapshots. 

Milan

My first week of classes at The University of Cape Town were extremely interesting! I went into the week full of optimism and positive thinking. Additionally, my expectations were high because The University of Cape Town is the top university in Africa! Therefore, I entered the week as prepared as possible with a strong desire to succeed despite any hardships thrown my way.

I have been staying with my host family for five weeks now. After thoroughly embarrassing myself the first couple of days while I adjusted to the cultural differences, I now feel like I am part of the family. I would highly recommend this housing option if you want to practice your language skills, watch fun Italian game shows on TV with actual Italians, and eat the best dinners of your life.

The first few days in Rome have been crazy—a combination of adjusting to living in an apartment in a completely new country with its own language and culture plus attending a week-long orientation to situate us with our new IES Abroad program. This orientation has allowed us to meet other IES Abroad students from across the world, learn helpful tips on city living in Rome, and explore and socialize with our fellow IES Abroad students and Italian Student Companions!

I have been exploring this country and find it to be so beautiful and full of color. I want to see more and share what I have experienced with you all. I have been living in Shanghai and recently traveled to Chengdu, in Sichuan province (I will be having another post all about Chengdu soon), and I have officially fallen in love with this country. The people are so friendly and want to give help in any way they can. But my favorite part has been seeing the everyday views and all the different colors of the places I go.

Hi everyone,