“What are men to rocks and mountains?” asks Elizabeth Bennet to her aunt, in Jane Austin’s novel Pride and Prejudice.   

So two weekends ago I took a trip to Barcelona with some friends from my study abroad program, and before you ask, yes I did spend the whole trip annoying my friends and singing Barcelona by Ed Sheeran under my breath. And yes, the city was just as beautiful and fun as Ed promised it would be.

To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of probability theory. But I’ve found myself doing a lot of calculating these past few weeks—predicting the long-term profit of investing in a zumba class versus joining a hiking group, determining the expected return for spending time with my homestay family or other Spanish locals, figuring out the opportunity costs of travelling to Prague or staying in Granada for Easter week.

“Go to the theatre, to museums, and to concerts as often as possible. It gives you a healthy glow.”

This quote is from a brilliant book my dear college roommate passed along to me, titled, How To Be Parisian Wherever You Are. However, I think it offers good advice for being a consumer of culture in whatever city you reside.

I have fully immersed myself in the culture here and my experience has taken a 180. I spent my first few weeks hitting all the touristy spots and following guides from people who had studied in Barcelona in previous years. However, lately, I have been living like a local and absolutely loving my experience.

On February 3rd*, people all across Japan celebrate the arrival of spring! Unlike America, where we wait for the wisdom of the groundhog, February 3rd is always the day before the start of spring. This day is called Setsubun, which literally translates to “seasonal divide,” and is a day to chase away evil spirits and ward off bad luck.