One of the billion reasons I love Granada is because it is the perfect size: small enough that I know my way around the city without needing to consult Google Maps every few blocks, and big enough that there is always a new corner to explore on my everyday walks. I love that while walking around, I often run into friends on the street or come across a brand new café that I hadn’t noticed before.

Content Warning: sexual assault

In Dublin, it was ten o'clock at night. My friend Andrea and I were having a girl's night in after our first week at the Gaiety School of Acting. Turns out acting school makes you really crave chocolate and early bed times. Who knew? We had cookies and milk, Goldfish, and chips and salsa. I made chamomile tea. We did face masks and watched The Grand Budapest Hotel. It was perfect.

Then, Andrea told me that Brett Kavanaugh had been voted into the Supreme Court.

During the first weekend of our program we drove out to the city of Segovia just north of Madrid. Starting out at Alcázar de Segovia, an ancient castle on the top of the hillside, we walked throughout the city, eventually reaching the Roman aquaduct, a massive structure built in the first century AD to deliver water to the city. During our meandering, we explored the architecture and design influences of the combination of different cultures that have occupied the space over thousands of years.

The reason that I picked Santiago out of all the cities in the world is because I was hungry to be immersed in a new setting where I would be forced to practice my Spanish and learn about the Latin culture. All of this came to life, when I finally arrived in Santiago, and I got the opportunity to live and learn in the modern capital of Chile while being surrounded by peers who were also driven by the same goal.

Hallo Alle!

I bet you're wondering about the title! You might be thinking, "What's up with this guy's title?",  "Why is he trying to be funny?",   Why should we get ready to be spoiled?", or even perhaps, "Who the heck let him make blogs for IES Abroad?" and let me tell you that they are all valid questions. So sit down, relax, and allow me to explain how my two weeks of my Orientation Intensive Language course period spoils you!

Alright ladies and gents, today we’re going to take a step off of the excitement and adventure train and go for a ride on something a little less interesting to some, but incredibly helpful to others. I am talking about going abroad with a pre-existing medical condition. I’m going to cover the logistics and slightly hard reality of having Type 1 Diabetes while planning on and participating in studying abroad.

To begin: what is Type 1 Diabetes you ask?

Coucou! It’s been a while since I last posted, but things are starting to settle down now! I’ve gotten some time to explore Nantes and surrounding cities in the region of Bretagne with IES Abroad trips to Vannes during the week of orientation, Clisson, Saint-Malo and Mont-Saint-Michel.

Some impressions from the first few weeks:

So yeah... I've been here for a month. It feels weird saying that. For some reason, it feels as if I've been here longer (but I'm not complaining). On a scale of 1-10 determining how comfortable I feel here, I would have to rank my comfort a 3. Just kidding, I'm saying 10. I love it here! Since being here for a month, I've had the opportunity to try new foods, explore new places, and speak a whole lot of German (well, Dinglish - Deutsch and English). 

Home has always been a confusing concept for me. I recall going through my childhood and catching myself thinking, "I wanna go home" when I was already within my own house. I struggled to find comfort in my surroundings. Growing up in Minnesota, my brown skin always stuck out against the white background. When I visited Pakistan, I would feel a strong sense of familiarity. Being in an environment where I wasn't totally different from others created comfort.

On a beautiful Thursday morning, our IES Abroad group boarded a bus and headed to the hills of the Chianti region of Italy. We were ready to connect what we were learning in our classes to some traditional business in the area. We had two stops planned, the wine producers of Rocca di Castagnoli and the pasta producers of Pastificio Fabbri.