For this blog post, I wanted to make something different. So I decided to create a little recipe/guide for the basic stuff you need to get together before studying abroad. Of course, I made a super simple recipe, and as I wrote in the recipe - "procedure may vary." For those of you reading this prior to your abroad experience, I'm incredibly excited for you! Good luck, and you got this! Go on and make some of the best memories of your life. 

Love, 

Bea.

It’s hard to believe I’ve only been in Barcelona for two weeks. I’ve already done so much since I got here; it feels like arrival day was months ago.

After MUCH struggle with the Chinese Visa office in D.C., I’m finally approved to go to Shanghai! I’ll be there for 2 months and will be working at the Oriental Danology Institute, which is a non-profit, independent think-tank based in Shanghai. Not going to lie, I’m pretty nervous about the whole process of arriving there. I’ve taken many plane trips within the U.S., but this will be my first international one and alone at that.

May 19, 2017

My last post in Spain on my last day here. It’ll be a while before that fully sinks in but I’ve come a long way since I arrived in January. This trip has made a big impression on me and I have a lot of new views on the world because of it.

Conbinis, short for convenience stores, are extremely popular in Japan. There are locations everywhere you could possibly imagine, even in the suburban areas. Before coming to Japan, I never really visited the convenience stores in California unless it was to pay for gas. It couldn’t be helped though since prices of the items would sometimes be a little expensive or they are located in a not so safe area. There wasn’t anything special at the convenience stores back home either.

Being home has been a mixture of elation at being back with family and a the phantom pain of abruptly stopping my life abroad. I didn’t cry like I did the last time I left Spain-because I know I’ll be back. To me, leaving Spain this time was so much more of a confident “hasta luego” (see you later) than an “adios” (goodbye). Spain has been in my heart since 2013, and it’s not going anywhere. If anything, the lovely time I spent abroad strengthened my bond with the country and the culture even more.

Semana Santa: Spain’s holy week that extends beyond just the one day off that we’re accustomed to for Easter. Semana Santa was also our spring break: ten days that you needed to leave your housing and go explore the world! I wanted to double back and write a longer entry about my Semana Santa travels because it’s important and very relevant for anyone who is interested in setting abroad, especially in Europe where travel is glamorized as cheap and convenient.

Excitement. Nervousness. Discomfort. Sadness. Elation. Curiosity. Relief.

These are all symptoms of studying abroad. No one said it was going to be easy, at least not at the beginning.