In hindsight, I'm a bit of a nightmare child. But I feel like this applies to everyone in college, not just abroad. Call your parents! Not just for emergencies either!

When studying and traveling abroad it’s easy to fall into the trap of just checking things off a list. You can keep track of the number of countries traveled to, new restaurants tried and museums visited, but at the end of the day it’s hard to say you truly know a place without getting to know the people.

A few weeks ago I briefly traveled to Beijing, China. I was only there for two days and spent one of those days at the Great Wall and the other day within the city, viewing just a few of the many historical structures they have. I was able to see Tiananmen square, a 109-acre large square! And then I visited the Forbidden City, an enormous palace for the emperor.

As I near the end of my study abroad experience, I can use three words to describe my feeings. Firstly, I feel grateful. My experience is not over yet, but being close to leaving allows me to reflect on the great opportunities I have had. The second word is overwhelmed. I realize that the finals schedule is approaching, that there are still places I want to explore, and that my life will transition again soon.

With all the travelling I have been doing in this program, it gets difficult to effectively care for my hair. If you have type 4 hair like me, it takes more time to style every morning and requires the appropriate products to help your hair grow and stay moisturized. In Europe, it is hard to find the suitable products for my hair. Luckily in Freiburg, I found a store called Muller, where I bought Garnier shampoo and conditioner.

Hola everyone. Last time I wrote a blog post, I was preparing for my Member States trip to Lisbon, Madrid, and Rome. Lisbon was such a wonderful city. I felt its vibrant energy as soon as I left the airport. The sight of palm trees and the clean beaches reminded me of being in Trinidad. The large crowd of people walking around the city taking pictures of sites reminded me of Times Square in New York City. It was a mixture of two of the places I call home. The food was amazing and was not very costly.

The best moments are the easiest to document because you want to maintain and treasure those memories. But when things go wrong...that's another story. Traveling and simply coming to a different country to study abroad inevitably comes with its struggles. Here, I've captured a raw, unglamorous moment of traveling that I am honestly so happy I recorded. Editing and re-watching the entire ordeal brought so much laughter and joy.

Despite the wonders of gelato, the awe-inducing sunsets at Lugano, the sprawling beaches of Barcelona, and the softly lit canals of Venice being in my backyard, it is still possible to be homesick. Though I have no yearnings to be at home per se, at this point in the journey I have begun to miss my family, friends, and familiarity of customs in the states deeply. Therefore, a visit from my family to close out the month of March couldn’t have been better timed.

Studying abroad anywhere will give you an enriching experience. Yet, where should you choose to study? I had a hard time choosing where to go, but I ultimately decided Vienna. Why? Well, Vienna has so much to offer!

Vienna is fantastic city to explore and to live in. In fact, Vienna has been voted the best place to live for the past nine years! It’s hard to argue with those statistics. So, why exactly should you study in Vienna? Let me explain…