If I were to list all of the things that made me love Barcelona, this post would be giant! Instead, I decided to make a little graphic with some of those reasons, and I also listed a few fun facts about Barcelona. I hope it will be helpful for some of you guys:

As I sit here, thinking about all the things I need to get done in the next few days before I leave for France (and obsessively looking up Arles on Google Maps), I keep telling myself not to stress out. I may have a lot to do, but I know that I also have a lot to look forward to.

        In many ways, I am realizing that although I am living in a country with deep struggles and divides through race, violence, and poverty; I am continuously sheltered from these experiences because of my privilege  Last weekend, our program organized a trip to Gugulethu- a township created during apartheid that is known for its high crime and violence rate.

For the first half of the semester, I was doing my best to never go somewhere twice. I did this because I wanted to experience as much of Sydney as possible. But now, as the time winds down, I am pretty much only going to places I’ve been before. You could say the first half of the semester was about finding myself in Sydney and finding my niche; whereas in the second half of the semester, it’s about how easy it was for someone to find me in Sydney.

Last weekend I made two bucket lists. The first, my bucket list for when I’m back in Texas was because I felt a little homesick. My younger brother graduated from high school, my uncle got married, and the TCU Horned Frogs won a really important baseball game – that all happened in the same day, within a matter of less than an hour actually. That homesickness has subsided, though, as I travelled around the city yesterday and went to a chili pepper festival, reminding me how amazing this city is and how much it has to offer.

Since last time- I got a nice visit from some family friends from Frankfurt, have been embracing Berlin 'summer-life' activities, and even took a nice trip to Amsterdam this past weekend (we had Thursday off for 'Himmelfahrt'). Now it's back to school in the meantime. I have quite a few presentations for classes going on this month, so we'll see how that all goes-- hopefully not too stressful... Here are the photos!:

~

Iconic Brandenburger Tor photo with my close childhood friend, Natalia:

One of our first adventures during our stay in Tokyo was to a nearby Ryokan where we were able to not only have a fantastic view of  Fujisan but also was able to partake in one of the best meals of my life.

I have officially been in Dublin now for one week and it has been a whirlwind to say the least. While one week does not seem like much time, I feel like I have been here for months. It is so easy to make this city feel like home with all of the friendly people and faces. Not only that, but I got extremely lucky with my "flat" (new term I am using") mates. They are all so eager to explore the city and the country as well and they have made for great travel partners so far. On Sunday we went to Dun Laoghaire and explored the Sunday market.

Getting ready for a trip is always a daunting task, especially if you are going out of the country. There are so many things to research, prepare, and pack before the trip. These past couple of weeks I have also been feeling a mixture of emotions about leaving home (California) for so long. I will definitely miss the beauty of home and my friends and family, but I know I will be going on the greatest adventure of my college career making memories I will never forget.