Following an adjustment period of about a week and a half, Paris became my home, or at least my European home. Between occasional weekend excursions to neighboring countries, Paris is my home base, where I feel most comfortable and where I can unwind.

So, when it came time to break out of France and travel to Dublin after three weeks in Paris, it surprised me how I got somewhat homesick, but not for Home in Seattle. I was homesick for Paris. 

The more time I spend in Vienna, the more I start to feel at home. The Austrian culture is starting to feel normal to me and not as foriegn as it once was. This weekend IES Abroad took some students on a field trip to Steiermark, which is one of the regions of Austria. Some advice I have for future students, travel often and when IES Abroad offers their field trips, jump on board! These trips have so much history and they provide more activies that most students would not think of on their own. 

I was most excited to visit Normandy. I think the history is very interesting and my neighbor landed on Utah Beach during WWII. We started our two day excursion with a stop at Memorial de Caen Museum. The museum started with the history of WWI and then it literally spiraled downstairs into more exhibits about how it led WWII. We had audio guides, so I was learning a lot. I didn’t realize the role of the Roaring Twenties and how it contributed to the economic downfall of Germany.

Barcelona! I’ve arrived, and so far so good! The taxi ride from the airport to my home was smooth, and when I got to the house my roommate and host mom welcomed me with a hug. I’m rooming with a friend with college, and she speaks fluent Spanish, so it’s been really helpful! Not only do I get to practice with my host mom every night on my Spanish but also with my roommate.

One of the billion reasons I love Granada is because it is the perfect size: small enough that I know my way around the city without needing to consult Google Maps every few blocks, and big enough that there is always a new corner to explore on my everyday walks. I love that while walking around, I often run into friends on the street or come across a brand new café that I hadn’t noticed before.

Content Warning: sexual assault

In Dublin, it was ten o'clock at night. My friend Andrea and I were having a girl's night in after our first week at the Gaiety School of Acting. Turns out acting school makes you really crave chocolate and early bed times. Who knew? We had cookies and milk, Goldfish, and chips and salsa. I made chamomile tea. We did face masks and watched The Grand Budapest Hotel. It was perfect.

Then, Andrea told me that Brett Kavanaugh had been voted into the Supreme Court.

During the first weekend of our program we drove out to the city of Segovia just north of Madrid. Starting out at Alcázar de Segovia, an ancient castle on the top of the hillside, we walked throughout the city, eventually reaching the Roman aquaduct, a massive structure built in the first century AD to deliver water to the city. During our meandering, we explored the architecture and design influences of the combination of different cultures that have occupied the space over thousands of years.

The reason that I picked Santiago out of all the cities in the world is because I was hungry to be immersed in a new setting where I would be forced to practice my Spanish and learn about the Latin culture. All of this came to life, when I finally arrived in Santiago, and I got the opportunity to live and learn in the modern capital of Chile while being surrounded by peers who were also driven by the same goal.

Hallo Alle!

I bet you're wondering about the title! You might be thinking, "What's up with this guy's title?",  "Why is he trying to be funny?",   Why should we get ready to be spoiled?", or even perhaps, "Who the heck let him make blogs for IES Abroad?" and let me tell you that they are all valid questions. So sit down, relax, and allow me to explain how my two weeks of my Orientation Intensive Language course period spoils you!

Alright ladies and gents, today we’re going to take a step off of the excitement and adventure train and go for a ride on something a little less interesting to some, but incredibly helpful to others. I am talking about going abroad with a pre-existing medical condition. I’m going to cover the logistics and slightly hard reality of having Type 1 Diabetes while planning on and participating in studying abroad.

To begin: what is Type 1 Diabetes you ask?