One of my main goals when I came abroad, similar to most students studying abroad, was to make the most out of how easily accessible travel is in Europe. Although weekend trips to other countries are always incredible, I've also enjoyed spending weekends in Italy and taking day trips. Because of Milan's central location, it's quite easy to hop on a train or bus and get to a neighboring city in less than 2 hours. One-day excursions have many advantages, one of the biggest being they're a huge cost-saver because there's no need to find accommodation.

The second I stepped off the train in Rabat, I knew what I wanted: a McDonald's cheeseburger. I know, I know. I'm in Morocco! Why would I go to an American fast food chain for food? Why wouldn't I want an authentic Moroccan experience? But you know what? There were no Americans in that McDonald's. I have seen numerous American tourists at the marché central, the souqs, the Andalusian gardens, the vista by the Rabat beach, and any number of other "authentic" Moroccan attractions.

I’ve been to two temple fairs, back to back over two days, and I still can’t tell you exactly what a temple fair is. The very idea of what I had imagined it would be was completely different than what was actually there. I believed that we would go to a temple, pray if we wanted to, and maybe buy a couple of souvenirs to take home. Both fairs were drastically different, but had some things in common. Despite the cold air blowing outside, both fairs were crowded, people of all ages attended, had games, and celebrated the new year.

These past four weeks in Dublin, I’ve experienced more change than I have in my entire life.

My apartment is new and foreign, the cars don’t turn the way I’m used to, and the accents lilt in a way that begins to feel familiar but still trips me up now and again.

But beyond the physical, there's been a huge amount of change in my life. In this place I am truly alone with myself for the first time ever.

View of the Eiffel Tower from the neighborhood :)

Two weeks into my study abroad, I attended my first ball at the Hofburg Imperial palace. For the past few days, you could hear the rumblings of excitement rising through the halls of the IES Abroad Center as students prepared for their first ball of the season, the Technical Univeristy of Vienna’s ball. Until this night, a ball was something that most of us had only dreamed about or seen in movies.  

It’s day five of our Techniques in Marine Research class on the coast of Ecuador, part of me is still excited for our last stop on this journey while the other half of me wants to head back into Cumbaya. I haven’t been feeling the greatest but the last couple of days have been pretty great. We headed out to Ayangue, Ecuador on Friday January 27^th. The bus ride was about 12 hours to the coast and jammed packed with activities like sleeping and eating snacks.

This weekend I crossed the Mediterranean to meet up with my friends from home in Barcelona. Spain is one of my favorite countries to visit, even though it always leaves a mess in my head. Since I studied Spanish in high school and its quite similar to Italian which I've been immersed in for many months now, I end up speaking a mix of the languages I like to call Spatalian...

My first official weekend outside of Barcelona was to Tarragona, a Catalonian port city and one of the oldest cities on the Iberian Peninsula in northeast Spain on the Mediterranean Sea. The area gained prominence and historical significance as a Roman colony, which was used as a fortress and arsenal. During its Roman days, Tarragona was filled with fertile plains and sunny days where the area could successfully produce wine and flax in addition to minting coins.