Holiday Availability: All IES Abroad offices will be closed on Dec 24, Dec 25, Dec 31, and Jan 1 as we take some time to celebrate. During the weeks of 12/22 and 12/29, our team will be smaller, so responses may take longer than usual. Thanks for your understanding—and happy holidays!
So earlier in the semester, I offered my take on neighborhoods in Granada with some help from the cast of Friends. As a follow up, I thought it would be fun to use the earnest thoughts of beloved, Michael Scott, from The Office to convey the range of emotions I experience here on a daily basis. Here's Michael's take on a day in my life in Granada.
When I wake up:
Before I went to Marseille, I didn’t know much about it. Truth be told, there’s still a lot I could learn. However, the huge takeaway from our Marseille excursion was that it was founded by immigrants. This thought touched me as I compared the city to the United States and its own founding.
This very fact is why the people of Marseille consider themselves to be “Marseille first, French second.” This mantra bears heavy significance in a world where prejudices and nationalist views are so prevalent.
My spring break experience involved two separate and very different journeys. The first several days I spent with IES Abroad on an optional trip to Kruger National Park, with brief stopovers in Johannesburg. The park is on the other side of the country from Cape Town, and from the moment we stepped off the plane at Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, we felt the difference: hot sunshine, which was a change from the temperate days and cooler nights of autumn in the Western Cape.
Last weekend I went to Xi’an with ten other students on my program for spring break. Early Friday morning, a few of us journeyed to Huashan Mountain (华山, Huà shān, shān meaning mountain in Mandarin). Huashan is located in the Shaanxi province of Xi’an and is considered to be one of the Five Great Mountains of China. Huashan has five different peaks that overlook various surrounding mountains and cityscapes.
Hello!!
This past week my family came to visit me. While they were here, we went to Barcelona for a few days. Wow, what a city! First of all, the weather was pretty wonderful. I got the sunshine that Germany has not provided me yet. You better believe that I soaked up as much as I could. It is also looking like Spring over there. The trees have leaves on them and there are flowers appearing everywhere. It is really beautiful and I cannot wait for it to look like that back in Germany.
