I went into this semester knowing—hoping—that I’d learn more about myself. I knew it would be a challenge to live with a host family that didn’t speak any English. I also knew that simply living on my own in a foreign country for four months would be an obstacle on its own. I’m from a small town in central Indiana, so learning to live in a city, a European city, would be a huge transition.

After a 3:45 AM departure Friday morning, we emerged bleary-eyed from the airport in Puerto Montt. Outside the air was brisk and our director Maricarmen donned a full-length parka; the climate in the Lake District is vastly different from that of Santiago. We got on a bus and drove to board a ferry. The trip out to the island of Chiloé was picturesque, with apparently unusually clear skies. After arriving on the island, we stopped on the side of the road at a small group of tents.

As a kid, I played a lot of Madden ‘07. I dominated everybody, from my little sister to my dad (OK, no bragging rights there) because I knew the rules. I knew that I could time my blitz a second early and not be called for a penalty. I knew that if I hit the quarterback (Eli Manning) a certain way, I could completely annihilate him without being flagged. I knew all the “easter eggs,” one might say. Eventually, though, the powers that be at EA Sports released Madden ’08. The rules had changed. My reign of terror was no more.

Chau, Buenos Aires!

It’s so hard to believe that six weeks have passed and that my time in Buenos Aires is coming to an end! As I reflect on my time in the city dubbed “the Paris of South America”, I thought I would share my recommendations of favorite places and sites for those in need of things to do in BA, or just curious as to what the city has to offer.

When I first arrived in Rome, students were advised to experience the country and city they chose to stay in. So, before I began traveling to different countries, I wanted to first travel around Italy. The first place I happened to go was Milan. Almost a month has passed since I actually went, and as I'm reflecting on my trip to Milan, I think it will remain the most memorable. As the first place I traveled to (aside from Rome), there were the most surprises and most foreign encounters.

Not football season. Not baseball season. Ball season—as in the fancy, princess-ly dancing event that you read about in fairy tales.

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting Munich. It technically wasn’t my first time there, as I flew into Germany via Munich, but it was my first proper time visiting the city since I didn’t have time to explore the city when I flew in.

Although this week’s weather was less than ideal (that’s sugarcoating it—I’m talking constant, pouring rain and 80 km/h winds!), I had the opportunity to try my hand at being a tour guide rather than a visitor. When my friend from home told me she was coming to visit from the U.S., I immediately began brainstorming all the wonderful places I’d discovered that I wanted to bring her to. Although we didn’t get to every spot I wanted to show off, we had the best time exploring my city together.

This past week, I had the pleasure of traveling to Accra, Ghana with my home school, Howard University. I am a part of the fourth cohort of the Global Trilateral MBA Program, which connects students at multiple institutions around the world as we engage on consulting projects for real companies. In this case, we worked with Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE) in Beijing, China as we provided advice for Chocolate Clothes. Just a little context, Chocolate Clothes is a Ghanaian clothing company owned and operated by Kwaku Bediako.