It seems like few people remember their college orientations very fondly. I remember thinking that my own orientation, a seven day period right before the beginning of classes, would never end. Even though orientation leaders tried to make the ice-breakers fun (instead of uncomfortable) and plied us with enough candy to sustain weeklong sugar highs, it’s hard to forget the boring group activities, overwhelming academic presentations, and awkward question-and-answer panels.

            I have used or heard these four words—chévere, gracias, sigo, y volcán—a countless number of times during my first week here in beautiful Ecuador. “Chévere” is the Quichua word for “cool!” It is thrown around in all sorts of contexts such as making plans, talking about people and places, or describing an experience. I think we all know “Gracias,” and it comes out of my mouth at least 30 times a day.

August 17th: Landed in Austria.
Even the airport was so classy.  We were immediately put on a bus to go to Mariazell for our 4 day orientation. *I thought it was 3 days.  Maybe it was because this was the first glimpse of Europe I had but Mariazell was breathtaking.  Spending 4 days there had its moments of jet lag and forgetting names of the 86th person you introduced yourself to but definitely necessary to prepare us for Vienna.

I am not interested at all in writing very simply on the mundane physical travels that I am now undergoing… I see no reason to rewrite something so many others have already written, and very possibly written much more effectively than I could. I hope that my blog is more a medium of reflection for my own growth and development of perspective. That will be the premise of my writing. I will often disguise it with satire and sarcasm, but beneath will lie serious contemplation.

Hello! My name is Lee and I will be spending the next four months in Nice, France. As of right now, I’m writing from the coast of Maine where I was born and raised. Tomorrow, I board an airplane, and I’m off to France. I put this short video together to introduce myself and to show where I am from. I love the ocean and I am especially looking forward to the Mediterranean Sea! 

After an exploded hard drive killed my old computer and deleted all my old files, I can finally restart this post to announce that I’m officially on my way to Morocco!