As I write this the minutes of the night are slowly fading away, and are becoming the early morning hours of Sunday, the third of September. My departure to study in Granada, Spain for a semester draws nearer. With a nine a.m.

Well I made it everyone! I’ve cried a lot (homesickness and anxiety are a tough combo to combat especially at the beginning of experiences like this), but I have managed to keep my eyes open to what is around me. I am excited to show you all a glimpse of all the things I saw in my first few weeks here in Paris. From just a little way into the airport, to my new home, and beyond, this is what Paris looks like to me.

In the opening scene of the movie "Real Steel," a robot designed by a character played by Hugh Jackman enters into a fight with a cow. I know this because the movie was showing in Spanish on a bus I took from the Ecuadorian city of Baños back to Quito last weekend. (I didn't pay attention to the remainder of the film, so no need to worry about spoilers).

It has been about two weeks since I arrived in Europe, and yet it seems like it’s been an eternity! Last week, the IES Abroad faculty swindled me, along with 141 other tired students, from the airport in Vienna to the remote and beautiful town of Mariazell in the Austrian mountains. We wasted no time in jumping right into our 4-day orientation. In between intense information sessions, German placement exams, and interviews for internships, we had the opportunity to get to know our peers and explore the wonders of the Styria region.

Study abroad wasn’t just an option for me. I came in as a bright eyed freshman expecting a study abroad experience. I knew I wanted it and I was going to make it a reality regardless. Naively, I assumed that this was a goal of everyone. Who wouldn’t want to spend an entire semester learning in the abode of another country, being able to absorb it’s culture through your pores through food, language and society? The thought of not studying abroad was asinine to me… then I considered the thoughts of others.

You would think the past few months and even the past year would have prepared me for this day, but because of who I am as a person and female millennial, I was still scrambling around 10 minutes before I left for the airport deciding which lotion to live without for 3 months.

It’s been three weeks since classes started, and I’m starting to feel like an actual UCT student! That is, if the slim qualifications for that title are being able to find all my classes and finally understanding the Jammie schedule. No but really, now that I’ve got my ‘walking on the left’ skills down I might pass as a run of the mill UCT student. Minus the American accent that is. 

I only just arrived in Amsterdam one week ago, but before the feeling of complete wonder surrounding this city fades (which it probably never will), I want to document first impressions.  First of all, many people told me that Amsterdam in real life looks exactly as it does in pictures.  They are correct.  This city is completely picturesque... everywhere.