Last week I got on the wrong bus while exploring the city after class. I ended up on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Here in BA, when you board the bus you tell the driver your stop, pay with your SUBE Card, and try to find a place to stand on the extremely crowded Collectivo (Argentine word for Bus). As I've done countless times before, I did just this. Ten minutes later, after reaching the end of the line , I was confused because I didn't recognise any of my surroundings.

A couple weekends ago we had our first major field trip to the Swiss Alps! How amazing is that?

I'll provide a quick overview of the trip to give you a glimpse just incase you choose to participate in the Environmental program!

When I traveled to Paris, I brought a lot of stuff with me. This included one giant checked bag, a carry-on suitcase and a tote filled to the brim with, among other things, a neck pillow, a travel-sized tin of Pringles and two novels I didn’t read a page of— the essentials, and then some. 

Since we arrived here everyone can’t help but describe Galápagos as a paradise. Even with a population of only a few thousand its not exactly easy to be bored on San Cristóbal. Unfortunately, this can make things very difficult travelers who are determined to have a bad experience. In general travel writing consistently excludes folks who just don’t want to have a good time. To fill this obvious gap, I’ve put together the following guide. These techniques are guaranteed to make the extraordinary unbearable.

I was playing a video game when the text came in. I’d always expected it to be bigger, somehow; I was raised in a superstitious family, where we believed in energy and in stregas and in knowing when something important was about to happen. But I guess that was wrong, because I was in bed playing Borderlands 2 for probably the tenth time when I got the notification. My mom had sent me a simple message; it just read “Hi Lou, please call me when you can.”

When my SO (significant other) came to visit me last weekend, I was super excited. I couldn’t wait to show them all the big tourist sites: the churches, the museums, the churches that have been turned into museums, and the giant statue of la Virgen de Quito with the view of the whole city. They were flying in late friday night, so I spent the whole day getting everything in order for their arrival. I packed my things, checked in at the AirBnb, double checked the bus schedule, and napped for a couple hours.

I have been in Morocco for over a month now. As life here begins to feel more and more normal, it also doesn’t.

Every day I walk home through the Medina, and every day I see something I never noticed before. I wonder if the stalls and landmarks are constantly changing or if some of these new items get lost within the chaos. I get lost too.

How is it even possible to study for final exams while studying abroad? In Cape Town, it feels especially difficult because the weather is starting to warm up, and I am realizing I only have a month left to plow through my neverending bucket list. With finals just around the corner, though, we’ve had to think back on what spots around Cape Town have been the best for settling in for a day of studying.

For most, studying abroad in a country in Europe means studying abroad in Europe as a whole. Weekend trips to Paris and London are the norm, and students can end up not seeing very much of their host country.

Destination: wherever. The point is the whole process, not just the destination. I guess I’m weird like that though, I have always enjoyed every part of air travel. The airports, the flying, the packing and unpacking with the souvenirs you come home with, the trying to sneak an overweight bag onboard disguised as a regular book bag, all of it is fun for me. I even enjoy turbulence on flights, every now and then - it breaks up some of the lull when you’re just sitting there cruising through the air.