Studying abroad is a balancing act. I came to Europe with an overwhelmingly long list of travel destinations in mind, while also desiring to spend quality time in my home city. With only so many breaks and weekends in the brief semester, I quickly found myself trying to cram in too many trips early on. After I realized what I was doing, I put on the brakes and spent a few weekends in Vienna. Now, as I enter my final weeks in this city, I am still struggling to maintain a healthy mixture of time away and time here.

While the history of Thanksgiving is not a joyous or proud moment for Americans, the legacy of spending time with family while sharing food extends beyond the atrocities the holiday was based on. I have come to recognize that all (or most) of American culture is tainted with colonialist, racist, and many other oppressive practices, however, we have found a beauty and comfort in reclaiming these things.

Even though I can hardly believe it, in four short weeks I will be heading back home to the states. When I think about this, I immediately try to occupy my mind with something to distract myself from this sad truth.

The world traveler in me is always itching to go to new places. I got into a rhythm of traveling to a new city every week and not being phased by the early mornings and somewhat chaotic lifestyle. I continued to get my homework done, be present in class, and establish great friendships in my program. Being abroad in Europe is so special because you have the ability to travel for little to nothing.

A few weeks ago, I did the most spontaneous, impulsive thing I have ever done in my life: I packed my bags and booked a trip to Belgium. This was without any further planning, and I booked my flight and Airbnb a few hours before I left. I took this spontaneous trip because I had discovered the Mexico would be playing Belgium in a friendly soccer match in preparations for the 2018 World Cup. This was an opportunity I simply could not miss, so I went home, packed my bag, and got on a flight to a whole new country.

In only a short amount of time, I will be back at home in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, and my time in Shanghai will be but a memory. As the semester here comes to a close in the next few weeks, the arrival of our departure-date has everyone concerned with if they’ve done enough or seen enough while here. With a city of this magnitude, it’s hard to accomplish everything.

For my reading week, I decided to travel to Italy! Italy seemed like the perfect destination: lots of sites to see, cities to visit, and (of course) yummy food. Since I am a total planner, I had my nine day itinerary set up and ready to go before I even stepped foot in the airport. I had all my museum tickets purchased, hostel rooms booked, and must-see items written down in my travel notebook. I had already Google-mapped everything that I was planning on doing so that I could figure out the optimal routes and items to pair together each day.

I remember the sense of pride I felt as I submitted my absentee ballot to vote for the President of the United States for the first time ever. Having freshly turned eighteen, I was excited that I got to voice my opinion and exercise my patriotic right to vote. Although I have failed to vote correctly in both the primary and general election, it was still an interesting time in the United States and the state of the country following the election result was very interesting to follow.