Over Pentecost Break, I had the opportunity to travel to Croatia. We spent time in Zagreb, Dubrovnik, and Split and had a wonderful time.

Coming abroad, Croatia was not even on my radar of places to visit. While I had heard it was beautiful, I hadn't considered it a spot to go for Pentecost Break. When someone in my program suggested it, I did some research and saw just how beautiful it looked. None of us had ever been and it was an exciting opportunity to step outside of our comfort zone.

I have been in Barcelona for about a week and a half now and I feel like I have eaten so many different things already! My favorite thing so far about Spain is "Menu del Dia". For 10-12 euros in many restaurants you can get three courses plus a drink. In the United States just having one course is around 10 dollars. The menu del dia allows you to try many different types of food on a budget while studying abroad or vacationing in Barcelona.

Yesterday I was sitting on my sofa at my house here in the U.S., with my phone on my hands I decided to navigate my Facebook timeline as the majority of us does when we are bored. One of the friends I made while studying abroad in Barcelona had posted a picture with his family. The picture was beautiful, but it's curious how seeing that picture made me reflect on the time we were abroad.

It's been almost two weeks since landing in Sydney, and I think I can speak on behalf of all of us on the program by saying that it has exceeded all of our expectations thus far.  Last weekend, about 8 of us decided to take a weekend excursion up to Cairns to get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit the great barrier reef.  Sydney is absolutely tremendous, but the great barrier reef was something that we knew we needed to see while we were here.  The flight was cheap, and under 3 hours, so it wasn't a bad trip at all.

Hello from Santiago!

First things first, I'M NOT REALLY SICK ANYMORE! I’ve been so sick for so long but now I am starting to feel human again! That’s probably the most important things. Anyway, here’s what I’ve been up to recently. Enjoy!

Recently, I had the chance to go to two places that are important to the history of Chile. With IES Abroad, we toured la Palacio de la Moneda and with my host sister, I went to El Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos (Museum of Memory and Human Rights).

This weekend was a fun-filled weekend serving as a break from all the studying that I have been doing. My term papers and exams are this week, and the last week or two I have spent a lot of time writing papers and studying and did not have much time for fun stuff and traveling. The IES Abroad program is coming to an end, but I will be staying until July due to having an internship and University course but that means that most of my classes will be finished soon and half of the members of my program will be headed back to America.

While many students I came with have left weeks ago, I’m still here. I decided to stay in Dublin with the IES Abroad Irish studies program this summer. And to be frank, I am eternally grateful that I get to spend the rest of my summer in Ireland not only to avoid the 110 degree heat in L.A., but more importantly because I feel at home in Ireland, and of course, I get to celebrate Bloomsday.