At IES Abroad Milano, an opportunity is brand new this semester. Fulbright-in-residence Elyse Resnick has created a new course and volunteering opportunity that she dubs "Service Learning" with the Comune di Milano's World Cultures Center, which aids immigrants and refugees in assimilating to Italian culture, and finds these clients services (mental, physical, social). When it was announced this opportunity would be offered for course credit at IES Abroad Milano, I knew it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. 

Back in Dallas, I don't do the whole "apartment" thing. It's too much of a hassle, feeding yourself, paying rent, having to clean the toilet, and other adult things. Instead, I live in my chapter's swanky sorority house, with 30 other women, catered to by a private chef, and cleaned after by a housekeeper. Living with all women has been something I have become really used to, and honestly, nothing has changed since coming to Italy. 

Wow where to begin? We’ve done so much in the past week. Time is going by so fast here but being in America feels like forever ago. It feels almost like the beginning of freshman year all over again but a lot more intense and even more is brand new.

Officially in Barcelona!! Today marks day 14 and I am amazed how it has already been two weeks! On one hand, it feels like I have been here for months but then again, only two weeks ago I was in New York. My first days in this wonderful city have been filled with nothing but smiles, laughs, good food, new friends, and beautiful views.

I need to buy a raincoat; previous students consider it essential with Auckland’s subtropical climate.  I’ve yet to buy a suitcase.  Do I go with my duffle bag, a camping backpack, or invest in a fancy rolling suitcase? And how will I acquire my favorite deodorant? It’s a sensitive topic for both my armpits and me, as an avid devotee to my favorite over-the-counter American brand.  All of this goes to show how incredibly unprepared I feel the month before New Zealand.

On Friday, I attended a lecture at Oxford University. On Saturday, I visited Cambridge University.

My first experience in Nagoya turned out to be Influenza.