Okay, so I didn’t actually cry. It just makes for a catchier title to say that I did. The truth is, I didn’t cry, but I certainly wanted to. The other day, I had some British friends over to my flat. It happened to be raining that evening, so many of them showed up varying degrees of soaked. I noticed some people were more cold and wet than others, so I offered them tea to help them warm up.

As a polar vortex takes over Minneapolis and forces the shut down of the Midwest, my excitement for the start of my program has quadrupled in size! In just over a week I will be welcomed by the warm temperatures that Argentine winters have to offer. My name is Mollie Abts and I am a junior at the University of Minnesota majoring in Global Studies, with a concentration on the global political economy and Latin America. When I first came upon the Multi-Location Emerging Economies program, I knew it was a perfect fit.

I will be on a plane headed to Berlin in twenty-four hours from now. I have repeated the phase “I am going abroad this semester” with ever-increased frequency to family and friends. However, I do not think the idea has really sunk in that I am going abroad until now. Of course, I have been preparing for months now with filling out the necessary paperwork, and buying and organizing all the necessary items for my trip.

The days, and now the weeks, continue to be filled with new discoveries, mishaps, laughter, delicious cuisine, and furious note-taking. From the morning walks to class to the IES Abroad community we have to the vulnerability in walking into a classroom as the sole American, growth and appreciation is at every step.

Ok, so can I just say that Vienna is amazing? The architecture, the food, the language, the music—*COUGH!*

Oops, excuse you! As I was saying, the music concerts are—*COUGH!*

*COUGH COUGH!*

Amazing. But strangely coughy. I have never heard so many coughs during a concert before.

I have been living in France for one month and have not come into contact with escargot. As a kid, I believed that this was all the French ate, perplexed by their ways. As I grew older, I began to understand that this dish was not something the French ate every day, or even at all. In my class last week, my professor asked if the French students ate the dish and they responded with a resounding "no" amid one "on occasion". The cuisine of the French is complex, but I learn more each day. 

Landing in Iceland for my layover, I stumbled around the airport, interpreting the signs written in Icelandic, reminding me I wasn't in Michigan. I became acutely aware of my foreign situation and my body was tensing up. Already anxious about catching my layover, I scrambled in whatever direction made sense. I breathed deeply reminding myself that by studying abroad I had asked the universe for these moments of stress and confusion, and there were going to be many more along the way.

I needed to embrace my fear!

Coming to another country, you expect there to be cultural differences, and there are. Even in Ireland, a largely Western and English-speaking country, there are little things. From the moment you walk into the airport, there are different snacks in the vending machines, a Gaelic language printed underneath English on all the signs, people driving on the other side of the road, and all sorts of small things. (My favorite difference that I’ve noticed thus far is, after a concert ended, the crowd began chanting “One more tune!

I arrived in Italy a little over two weeks ago, and as ludicrous as it sounds, I am already yearning for more time here (and considering the logistics of moving abroad permanently). The ten day point marked the longest period of time I have spent in Europe, and the realization that I am more student and resident than tourist has begun to resonate.