I've come to greatly apperciate the Netherlands' incredible attention to detail. In practically every aspect of Amsterdam, no corners are cut when it comes to design. The escalators are color coded red and green, the trashcans are geometric cylinders and cubes, and the bathroom stalls are covered in checkered tile with blue trimming. Bold color combinations and repeating design patterns are used on everything in Amsterdam. There are no blank walls. There is not wasted space.

February has flown by in the blink of an eye. Of course, it’s a few days shorter than most months, but also because in the middle of February I had an entire week of vacation from school. I was able to have this vacation time because soon to be graduating high school students were taking their placement exams this week. In Japan, getting into a four -year university is not guaranteed, but earned through rigorous testing. Each university has their own entrance exam, and a lot of high school students are coming to universities to take these exams.

Before my trip to Amsterdam a few weekends ago, it was just another city to check off my bucket list. I knew almost nothing about the city, and I didn't know what to expect.

                After finally submitting all my application materials to IES Abroad, compiling everything for my Spanish student visa, and reading pages of packing guidelines and class registration information, I thought I would be done with paperwork, applications, and logistics for a semester.

If you were to ask a sampling of granadinos for their opinions on Madrid, you would get a variety of responses. Some view it as the economic and cultural capital of Spain. Others consider it crowded and overwhelming. Then there are those who call it less exciting than its rival in size and prosperity, Barcelona.

I’ve been in Italy for a little over a month now and I want to say that this has been the best and also toughest semester of my life. Going abroad isn’t and will not be easy. There will be things that you will miss and if you are going to a country that doesn’t speak English, the language barrier will always be in the back of your mind. As someone who identifies as a person of color, it has been particularly challenging in some regards, but I have tried my best to willingly open my eyes and ears to the experiences of others.

I've spent the last couple weeks here exploring the different regions of Santiago, and understanding the geographical and cultural distinctions of Chile in general. Navigating a foreign country that speaks a foreign language is challenging, but nonetheless intriguing. I have become more aware of my own cultural and linguistic gaps than ever before. Moreover, the sense of internal displacement starts to kick in. In short, I must be prepared to constantly adapt to the unfamiliar this semester. 

1. Language

In high school, I was very into geography. I loved those quizzes where you matched countries with their locations and their flags. I knew that it wasn’t possible to go to all of these places in a lifetime. Europe was in reach and the US, maybe. And I’ve been to Southeast Asia, so count that in, too. But so many places weren’t even close and I couldn’t dare dreaming.

I think that the large breaks that come along when studying abroad or even back home bring with them, oddly, some amount of pressure. Suddenly you have all this time on your hands, and you feel like you got to make the most of it with travel, especially when you're in the middle of a once-in-a-lifetime experience like study abroad. And while the desire to relax and stay in can be tempting and sometimes a break well spent, I find that this pressure to travel is healthy.