As a self-proclaimed almost-Londoner, I feel like I’ve learned a bit about not being the American you can spot from a mile away. When I arrived in London for my summer term with IES Abroad, I was focused on not standing out as an American. I wanted to fit in and be accepted by the people around me, which ended up making me extremely aware of everything about be that is American. I quickly became obsessively aware of my posture to the point where my back and shoulders would be sore in the morning from standing so straight all of the time.

So, you’re in Amsterdam for a few days and want to see some of the bests of the best before you leave? Well, look no further. After four months of living in this incredible city, I’ve compiled a list of my personal favorites, ranging anywhere from what grocery store to buy the best croissant to the most reliable metro line.

1) Canal (specifically for those classic Amsterdam canal pictures)

If you’ve been following my blog this semester, you know that towards the end of October, I experienced a personal tragedy: my grandmother passed away. It was the first personal loss I’d really ever experienced, and it hit me hard. For the next month, everything was just harder. It was harder for me to wake up in the morning, to get out of bed, to pay attention in class, or even just to think clearly. I was existing in a haze, going through the motions for the sake of appearances even as I let everything in my life slip.

A week or two ago, I realized that I deeply needed to be at the beach. This wasn’t some high-minded, spiritual revelation; it’d just been a rough week and I wanted to end it lying down with my toes in the sand, reading a good book in the December heat. This desire had swept over me pretty early in the week, and by Thursday (my Friday) I was ready to set out. I was going alone; I really just wanted the opportunity to exist and just breathe. Being around other people is great, but every now and then I just need some time alone.

Hi everyone! Merry Christmas and happy holidays! Hope you all are doing well and enjoying yourselves this time of year. Ever since I got back, everything flowed very well back with my family that it doesn’t feel like I even left! Even though I’ve had new and different experiences, it’s nice to come back to the comfort of my own home. People have been trying to make plans and catch up and all I want to do is curl up and sleep. I think after taking such a big trip, it’s exhausting to tell the same story.

Recently, I’ve found that self-care hasn’t been on top of my priority list. I think since my time in Barcelona was ending, I said yes to opportunities to have adventures and travel more often. Saying no is extremely powerful. Saying no can be a form of self-care because often times we get into the mindset that we have to do everything and be there for everyone but that’s it’s not worth it if you’re not saving some you for YOU. The month of November is when I got sick for about two weeks. I still said yes to many outings.

Hi everyone! It’s been a while, so I thought I’d catch up with you all. I’m back at home now! We made it! But before I share how it feels being back from studying abroad, I want to go over a few things that I learned while I was abroad.

Pack Light

Since coming home, I have heard the same question over and over:

How was studying abroad? 

On the plane ride home, I actually made bullet points to answer the impending question. This letter is for family, friends and anyone else who wants to know how my study abroad was. So here it is:

Dear Everyone,

How do I even begin to describe the city that, for four months, I have come to call home? Modern Madrid is a metropolitan city, with a fairly diverse population and it has influences from both older era and the evolving new one. LGBT rights are firmly defended, and one of the barrios, Cheuca, is a largely LGBT community, but influences are widespread throughout Madrid. There are growing immigrant populations, and several barrios such as Lavapiés and La Latina are including a more diverse range of gastronomy within Madrid.

It’s a very tough realization when you return home from an amazing trip and realize that no one cares as much about it as you do. You will have friends and family members who ask a few questions and are interested in your photos, but no one will ever share the same level of enthusiasm that you have. This can be tough, and it is just one of the struggles that you will encounter.