¡Hola a todos y Feliz Navidad! ‘Tis the season to get into the holiday spirit, and Granada has really been showing off with beautiful lights adorning every street and dulces de navidad in every bakery window.

For a city that's literally named "good airs", Buenos Aires doesn't always offer the high air quality one's respiratory system would expect. A walk through its streets delivers all the enticing scents of city life: a breath of car exhaust, a waft of overfilling dumpster, a refreshing whiff of tar-flavored construction dust, the sweet aroma of whatever some poodle ate for breakfast.

These pictures provide only a taste to the beauty, wonder, and perplexity that is to be found in everyday life.  Despite the walls of divison that we often erect between us, may the short glimpses that follow be a small reminder of our shared humanity.  

It turns out that after living somewhere for four and a half months, it can feel very nearly like home. In Cape Town, this was certainly the case. I grew close with other IES Abroad and UCT students and finally figured out how to situate myself based on where I saw the three mountain peaks.

Studying abroad is is the time to explore and live your best life, but it can be overwhelming when you're first starting off. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when considering how to begin your adventure. 

Do

1) Try all the food, and eat as local as possible

Italy is known for its incredible food and wine, and it’s the perfect time to try it all. If you’re generally a picky eater, now is the time to push yourself and sample everything offered to you.

I have spent the last 3 ½ months in the fashion capital of the world and the finance capital of Italy. My life was nothing like what I expected it to be, and that was the most fun part about it. Here are the 10 things that I’ll truly miss about the city.

1. The Food: This one is pretty self-explanatory. I had pasta for at least one meal a day and it seemed like every restaurant I went to made it better than the one before. I’ll especially miss three-hour dinners where everyone is simply in the moment, enjoying the company of each other.

Time has flown by and Spring Break has drawn near. Before coming to Argentina, I hadn’t thought much about what other countries I would like to travel to. Luckily, I had some great friends who had come prepared with ideas.

Before I knew it, we had decided. I was going to Santiago De Chile (The Capital City) and Valparaiso (a neighboring town).

After successfully completing Midterms, a couple of booked AirBnb’s, and a quick two hour flight later, I was in a new country with wonderful friends.

With a little less than a week left of my time in Berlin, I wanted to reflect on my indescribable experience here.

Waking up on Sunday morning felt so surreal. The fact that within a week, I would be waking up in the United States. This doesn't make any sense to me. How could it be that my time here has come to an end? It feels so soon. It feels as if I just unpacked yesterday. I know I can't turn back time nor slow it down, but can an exception be made? 

For fifteen days I have been back in the U.S., and for a handful of these days I have been pondering what I wanted to write about in my final blog post. To be completely honest, I have been at a loss when I begin to think about what I want to share with everyone about my experience. How do I put 5 months of experiences, thoughts, people and places into a single post, and do so eloquently?

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