Early this Monday morning U.S. Central Time the IES Abroad website will undergo scheduled maintenance. During this time some or all features of the site - like login and account creation - may be unavailable, but we expect this disruption to be brief. Thank you for your patience.
I was so relieved when the other IES Abroad students and I actually made it to Chengdu. After booking the tickets online, getting through security and customs at the airport, and using public transportation to get to our hostel, I was just glad I was in one piece.
As a first year, I knew studying abroad was something that I would always do. I told whoever would ask that I wanted to immerse myself in a foreign country, fully experiencing a different culture and hopefully improving my Spanish. However, it all seemed like a far-away dream which makes it difficult to fully grasp its realization. Now, less than a week away from departure, reality is just now starting to set in and with that comes many different emotions, but mostly excitement.
14 days. That’s the countdown until I leave for Rome. To say I’m excited would be an understatement. Study abroad is something I’ve been looking forward to, and planning for, since my freshman year of college. To finally have the opportunity to spend 12 weeks in Italy is very exciting. Of course, I’m nervous about certain things. Remembering 4 years worth of Italian classes, navigating public transportation, and balancing classes with exploring new places to name a few. But I’m looking forward to so much more.
Unfortunately, I caught an aggressive cold at some point last week. Never thought I would start a blog post with that, but, hey. Like the underestimator that I am, I kept thinking “it’s gonna get better, you’re totally fine” because, well, old habits. Because my school is in the barren countryside that some people call upstate NY, everyone at my university is weirdly perpetually sick and no one ever really takes time off to get better.
one of the various beautiful canals around the city
The view after walking off the gondola at the top of the moutain
When starting to explore the many study abroad programs, I knew there was only one country for me: France. However, I did not know what program to choose in this vast country. After much research, I realized the IES Abroad French Studies program in Paris was the perfect fit for me.
El Museo de Guayasamín
After finishing our three week intensive German course, everyone couldn't wait to take advantage of Vienna's central location to do some traveling! We got a full week off, so a couple friends and I flew to Abisko, Sweden (verrrrry far north) to see the Northern Lights. Not only did we see the lights, but we did some dogsledding and snowmobiling!
During Carnival, anything goes... (Which is another way to say that all pranks and jokes are free game during this month - think April Fool's Day lasting for 28 days)