1. Parque Federico García Lorca (00:00-00:57)

Despite being a smallish-sized city, Granada is constantly abuzz with music. Any given night of the week you’re bound to find at least one concert if not a handful—many of them free.

What a wonder it has been to spend two weeks in Paris so far! The first week I was here was mostly spent just getting used to the city and doing some orientation activities with the rest of my cohort. Then the week after was when I started at my internship—I’m already seeing a lot of the similarities of how the field of communications is applied even in a different cultural context. All of what I’ve learned in school these past three years is going into my work advancing the brand guidelines and positioning for the podcast.

Granada is full of vibrant neighborhoods, each one with its own distinctive feel. The diversity of the city shines through the closeness of these different worlds.

I am in my bedroom at home, surrounded by suitcase shrapnel.  I am patiently waiting for all of this to feel real.

I am headed to the airport on Monday, where I will be flying for the first time in seven years.  I will land in Dublin, Ireland, which will be the only country outside of the United States that I have ever set foot in (yeah, not even Canada).  I am absolutely thrilled.  I am also absolutely terrified.

I have only ever flown abroad once in my life: I visited my grandparents in Slovakia when I was eleven years old. Now, nine years later, I scramble to pack my suitcase. Clothes, papers, toiletries—these make up ninety percent of my bedroom floor. I try to pick my favorite clothes that match with a select few pairs of pants so as not to overpack, especially since I hear clothing is cheap in Shanghai. However, I have read that it is difficult to find clothing larger than a size medium there, and I usually wear a large!

It was swelteringly hot the first week of Ramadan in Rabat; even sitting on the terrace at 7:14 p.m., when the sun had just dipped under the horizon, the heat was oppressive. It felt appropriate that the first heat wave of the year had swept the city as the holy month began. It left the ground as parched as the people. It also made fasting difficult.

For our final project, we IES Abroad students in the Studio Rietveld art class created a gallery of our works at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. During our last class session, IES Abroad staff, students, and friends came to see our gallery opening of works we created during the semester. Additionally, each student had a responsibility in getting the gallery together, including curating, audio-visual help, and promotion.

As I lazily watched the clouds pass from 35,000 feet in the air, the PA system came on, warning us that we would be landing soon. My flight from Chicago was 16 long hours, and although we landed late at night, I was restless and ready to explore Asia’s World City. Shortly after the announcement, I saw the lights of Taipei, then Kaohsiung City, before the plane sharply turned and headed directly for Hong Kong. As we flew over, my jaw dropped. Hong Kong is not a city. No, Chicago is a city.

It has officially been a week since my study abroad program ended, and I am still en route back home to Buffalo, New York. The day after my program ended, I packed up and flew to Ispica, Sicily with my grandfather. We spent six days living on the coast and exploring the local towns. Leaving bustling Berlin for serene Sicily was a tonal shift, and it better prepared me to return home.