Holiday Availability: All IES Abroad offices will be closed on Dec 24, Dec 25, Dec 31, and Jan 1 as we take some time to celebrate. During the weeks of 12/22 and 12/29, our team will be smaller, so responses may take longer than usual. Thanks for your understanding—and happy holidays!
It's hard to believe that I've been gone almost half a year and nothing much has changed back home. I had been so worried about feeling disconnected coming back but the whole process has been much easier than expected, granted I did only come home to San Francisco and still have yet to return to Minnesota, which may be an entirely different experience.
Another long weekend meant another opportunity for a weekend excursion to a far away land...or in general just another opportunity to explore the great land that is Australia. Last weekend, I traveled up to Proserpine, a nice tropical getaway to say the least. The town is home to the infamous Whitsunday islands, specifically Whitehaven beach. Whitehaven beach consists of some of the whitest sand in the world, and getting the opportunity to visit was definitely a once in a lifetime experience.
I have officially been back in the United States for a week now. My sleep schedule is finally back to normal, the jet lag has worn off. I’ve caught up on the political scandals that I missed from June and July. Slowly I am getting used to the humidity again.
Well, my time galavanting abroad has finally come to an end. Today I head home, making the long trek back to California from the Dublin airport. It’s a very bittersweet time for sure, like most things I’ve been experiencing lately.
One month from today I will be waking up at 4 am to catch a 7 am flight out of SFO and start on my journey to SIENA, ITALY!! There are not enough words to explain how excited I am! I just learned today where I am living and who the different people in the program are. It's not a big group, but personally that makes me a little more comfortable because of my introverted-ness.
Dear Ireland,
After our semester classes ended around the beginning of July we had a fair share of freetime that opened up. I spent my last few weeks in Berlin roaming around the city, taking in the liveliness of it all. I miss it already (I'm currently back home in California as I write this). Of course a decent amount of my time left in Berlin also consisted in checking out more abaondoned locations with some friends. We felt the need to squeeze in some more urban exploring while we still had the chance.
