Unsurprisingly, quite a bit has happened since you last heard from me. A busy week of midterms saw me with my nose finally (frantically?) in my books, and I was generally happy with how my exams came out. The following week of spring break I stayed in Buenos Aires while all of my classmates travelled around the continent. After the first few days of feeling lonely and jealous, I started to make the best of my break and get out into the city.

The places we travel can be beautiful and awe-inspiring.  Monuments carry profound meaning and breathtaking vistas remind us to pause to soak up the majesty of creation.  The hustle and bustle of the active city brings a rush to our veins. 

Hi everyone!

I'm writing this post on my train ride from Paris to Freiburg. The EU Institutions trip was amazing; I especially loved visiting the European Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union. A review of Brussels, my new favorite European city, is coming soon but for right now let's talk about something very important: music.

There are three reasons for this post:

This past month has been a whirlwind of changes and newness. It feels like being a freshman in college all over again; meeting new people, living with a ton of roommates in a small space, trying to figure out the city where you’re living… Yet, I still have three years of college under my belt and have not forgotten the lessons I’ve learned along the way.

1) Don’t go to the Amazon Rainforest. The easiest way to avoid even seeing spiders (let alone sloths, piranhas, poison dart frogs, rad birds that look like dinosaurs, and like ten different types of monkey) is to give one of the most biodiverse regions of the world a wide berth. If you don’t want to pick up a spider the wrong way, definitely make sure you don’t go to the Amazon! 

My first somewhat independent adventure, and I feel like I’m on an episode of the Amazing Race! To be quite honest, I think it has been easier landing in Amsterdam than Paris. English helps a lot. I successfully managed to take the bus to my hostel, and I saved myself a lot of money by not taking an Uber or taxi. I still can’t believe that I bought my own ticket and navigated a new country by myself. Definitely a bucket list experience. On the bus ride I got a glimpse of the pretty houses along the river. I can’t wait to explore more!

こんにちは!

The number of things to do and places to see in Tokyo is limitless. There are shops, shrines, temples, museums, cafes, etc. Once in a while, it’s nice to experience something a little different though. There’s so much in Japan to see outside of Tokyo, and I want to see as much of Japan as I can. That’s why at the end of September, I spent the weekend in Yokohama.

    I’ve found myself at a movie theater near the center of Amsterdam twice recently. I always get very into going to movies with my mom when I’m home for the summer. Usually I can’t follow through on all the trailers I planned on seeing that upcoming fall because of school stress but I’m happy to say that that hasn’t happened yet here. It’s a nice, familiar pocket to visit.

As my semester in New Zealand is coming to a close I have been spending some time reflecting on the experiences and feelings I have had along the way.