In contrast to the previous, light-hearted post about food, I will discuss a more contentious subject in this post: U.S. national politics and what it is like to live abroad in our current political climate. As this is a subject about which I constantly think every day, I have more to say than could fill this blog post. Thus, I will concentrate on the two largest revelations I’ve uncovered this semester as well as their consequences.
This weekend I travelled down to Jervis Bay with my roommates and the girls across the hall. We had been trying to make this journey for a few weeks now but for numerous different reasons, the plan never stuck. Until this past weekend. And I’m so glad it finally did this weekend.
Rabat, Morocco.
Free weekends are for travel... & that's exactly what we did! During the last two weekends before "real" semester classes started in Berlin, students took advantage of free time to go and travel. A decent chunk of IES Abroad Berlin students went on the program-organized Baltic Sea trip (where we visited both Warnemünde and Rostock, Germany) for spring break. Then, I personally also tagged along to a Copenhagen, Denmark trip (plus a day-trip to Malmö, Sweden) with a smaller group of friends~ Enjoy!
Student housing is quite different here in Germany but I definitely love it. There are some major differences between student housing in Germany and in the USA. Here is a short list of some of the major differences between the two.
I had heard about the regularity of strikes and demonstrations in Buenos Aires but it’s something completely different experiencing it. On April 6, there was a general strike (paro general) of many labor unions and businesses who are currently against government policies and practices; there would be no public transportation, no banks open, and many businesses would be closed. Walking down the streets of Buenos Aires that day was odd.
Cuando llegues al Microcentro de Buenos Aires, hay algunas cosas en que inmediatamente fijas: el montón de rascacielos que parecen hecho de espejos, el vestuario muy lindo de toda la gente y el hecho de que cada cara que ves es blanca.
Morocco. What better way to celebrate your 21st birthday abroad than a trip to Africa!? To say this was a birthday to remember would be putting it lightly.
As I go through the photos from the breathtaking Torres del Paine National Park, I almost forget how stressful it was to plan the whole trip. So I though I would put down few tips that I wish I have known before.
1) March is the best month to head out to Patagonia - the weather is still warm and mostly sunny, and you will avoid all the peak season crowds. So, if you are a spring semester student - lucky you!
When you’re studying abroad in the heart of Europe, the world really is your oyster. There are no bounds as to where you can go. All I know is that every weekend, I want to take advantage of my time in Europe and go somewhere I have not been before. I figure that Monday to Thursday every week in Vienna is plenty of time to get to know Vienna, and so I leave when the weekend comes. This weekend, the adventure took me to Macedonia, a Balkan state that is often overlooked.