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!
My transition period from routine college athlete, to real-life adult human being started about three months ago. Standing on deck at my last go-around of my college's Conference Championship swim meet, waiting to head back for some rest after the completion of the first session of the multi-day event, my phone buzzed--an email from IES Internships.
Last night I was at dinner with the dudes, celebrating Brian completing a crazy busy week of projects, papers, and exams (yeah sometimes you actually have to study while abroad, just be ready for that). Anyways, we were telling stories and laughing pretty loudly because Brian is from New York and that’s just his normal tone. A girl came up to us and asked if we were from America because she could hear our American accents across the room.
This past week I participated in an optional IES Abroad trip to Italy, which was a tour through a few cities in Italy. We visited Venice, Verona, and Padua, all cities in northern Italy. It was a five-day trip and was a great opportunity getting the chance to explore a bit of Italy at an affordable cost.
I landed in Germany only a week ago, yet I have already had so many adventures in such a short time. One of the most beautiful aspects I see in Europe, is the ability to travel fast and freely to other cities, and even countries. Each photo has tips & tricks to an easy day trip to Poland!
I arrived. I arrived here in the heart of France, its governmental and cultural center, a precious jewel of Europe and the world. Paris is divine. I don’t know where to start, but I think it makes sense to start with the beginning.
The First Day
In the beginning, there was darkness and airplane food. It went better than expected.
As I dragged my two overpacked suitcases through the Madrid airport, my head throbbed with the pain of sleep deprivation. Believe me, a six hour time zone change transforms your Spanish skills...and not in the way desired. Nonetheless, the IES Abroad program leaders survived my hazy language comprehension, guiding me to a taxi which transported my friend Liz and me to our host family’s apartment. Our host mom Ana greeted us in English instead of Spanish, probably noticing my ghoulish yawns and eye bags.
I have officially hit the 24 hour mark before I am in Italy. I am Canadian, and the only Canadian in the Milan Summer Internship program- embarking in an 8 week internship in Milan. My name is Victoria and I am a fashion student back here in Toronto. I have talked so much about doing this and wanting to live abroad for so long, that I cannot believe the day has actually arrived.
I surprisingly have not touched on the topics of food, imports, or the economy in Argentina at all in my blog despite the fact that it was a pretty big hurdle when I first got here. Argentina doesn’t have a typical free market economy; you can’t import goods without exporting something of equal value.
This blog is coming out a tad late but then again most people back home don’t keep up with Argentine news anyways. That being said, about 2 weeks back I was in Argentina to witness a historic moment: 2 x 1 and the march against 2 x 1.
It’s 1:08 on Monday, May 22nd. You were two minutes too late to catch the last Metro and now have to wait another eight minutes before the next one comes. You’re running late for class, where you forgot you had to give a presentation today. Thankfully your past self was smart and finished it a week early, but you never edited it, will it look good? Was there a time limit to fill? How is it you went to bed early in both Berlin and Prague, where you’d spent your previous weekend exploring, and still wake up today fuzzy and utterly unfocused?