To preface this post, I just want to say that I am going to post about London soon! I have two really good blog post ideas and I'm just collecting photos for them over the course of a while now.... But I promise that I will write/post photos about the lovely city I currently reside in!

It’s hard to believe I landed in London two months ago today! This city certainly has some can’t miss sights and experiences: Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, The London Eye, and Trafalgar Square certainly come to mind. These are all awesome places, of course, but discovering underrated spots is key to feeling like a local. Here are a few of my favorite, lesser-known spots in London!

When I first began classes here at IES Abroad, I was definitely a bit overwhelmed and wondered if I would be able to keep up. Chinese class is Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8am to 10am, plus two one-hour sessions of one-on-one lessons per week. I am also taking Chinese Government and Politics on Mondays 1pm to 4pm, Late Imperial China on Tuesdays 1pm to 4pm, and HSK Preparation on Thursdays 10am to 12pm. And of course, Calligraphy on Mondays, 10am to 12pm.

One of my favorite things about the Netherlands is the accessibility of public transportation throughout the whole country.  To get around you use an OV Chipkaart, a little blue and white plastic card that give access to all public transportation.  That's right, you can use this little guy for the trams, subways, buses, and trains throughout the entire country.  No more Charlie Card for me!  A great thing about this card is that it charges you by distance, not by ride.  And because Amsterdam is pretty small you can

Rotorua is a popular weekend destination for study abroad students. It’s about a 3 hour drive or 4 hour bus ride south of Auckland. It’s an awesome place, but a lot of the attractions are expensive. I went with some friends, and in order to save a little money, we visited some out of the way places that aren’t as popular with tourists and are totally free to enjoy.

Te Waihou

You're about to embark on what could be one of the most life-changing experiences of your life. In the pre-departure briefing I had at my university, we were told that we might feel like we have changed by the time we come home. In short, I think they were right. Moving to a foreign country with only a couple of vaugely familiar faces and little idea for what kind of environment you are going to be living in is so intimidating. You will find yourself adapting like you have never adapted before.

It’s really easy to romanticize studying abroad with amazing pictures of countless beautiful cities. I’ll admit that I’ve definitely fallen into the trap of only posting pictures of my days that are “cooler” or more interesting than my average day. However, I think there’s much beauty to be had in the seemingly mundane, and I want to share what my average day looks like in order to keep it real.

Last week, our IES Abroad program took us on a three-day weekend trip to Tuscany, all expenses paid. On Friday morning, 90 of us boarded buses for a five-hour drive in the beautiful country side of Italy. We arrived in Sienna in the early afternoon and checked in to a nice little hotel in the center of the city. We had previously been given the option to choose our roommate for the weekend, so most of us ended up getting to share a room with a good friend.

When I came to Vienna, I had never lived in an apartment before. I lived on campus for my first two years of college, where I didn’t have a kitchen and relied 100% on an expensive, unlimited meal plan. It was very convenient to have my food prepared for me back then, but it also meant I had no experience grocery shopping and cooking for myself! Now I had to learn how to feed myself, and on top of that, I had to learn how to do that in a foreign country.

Since I arrived in Dublin for my second semester abroad, I had a feeling that this time around would be very different. When you jump into a semester abroad, there is so much to get used to: a new culture, school, accent or language, currency, and overall lifestyle. Whether you travel every weekend or just stay put in your host city, you will inevitably be transformed throughout the four months. I have found it difficult to pin point exactly what is so incredible about an experience until I’ve stepped away from it for a bit.