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This past week I have been confronted with the fact that my Spanish has really taken a hit from lack of practice. Up until this point, my progression with the language has been going very well—from not being able to ask where facial soap is in Farmacity to having conversations about the environment and politic sphere. Now mind you, I struggle with finding the right words or sometimes don’t understand a response but I can get by most situations.
It has been almost ten days since I left Europe, and I’m definitely starting to feel more adjusted. So far I’ve only seen family members and a few close friends, though, so it may be a whole new story when I’m back at college.
My name is Anna Ortega, and in one week I leave for Dublin, Ireland. I study History and Folklore at Indiana University. Some fun facts about me: I’m bilingual, I recently watched all of “That 70’s Show”, and currently I can’t stop listening to Princess Nokia. As I get closer to and closer to my departure, I’m becoming an odd mix of excited anticipation and straight up fear.
I had to take a lyric from Jet Plane again for my last blog post. The writer in me wanted to come full circle and that song pretty much captures how I feel about having left Rome.
By the time this is posted, I will have been in Vienna for a week already! It’s crazy that 1/6 of my study abroad experience is already over! So I just wanted to update everyone on my thoughts so far.
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.