Food is my best friend.

Hi everyone! I had previously made a post all about food, but I decided everyone loves food so I’ll make another one. In this post I’m giving you all of my secrets. Yes, you. After living here I have found the best and the worst places to eat here in London. Here are some of my favorites!

It was a sunny and breezy day in the Western Cape. Myself, along with 20 or so other international students congregated around an antique outdoor dining table with hot coffee and rooibos tea in hand. We excitedly awaited the arrival of Patrick Gaspard, the United States Ambassador to South Africa. We had been invited to the Consulate General’s residence to speak with the Ambassador about the ongoing protests that had been (and still are) happening across South Africa.

            With three modules down and two to go, we had over a week off to go island hopping for five days. We left San Cristóbal Thursday for Santa Cruz Island. We arrived there on Thursday evening and went to the night market with grumbling stomachs. Some friends and I grabbed a delicious $10 lobster dinner, something you’d never find back in the States!  The next morning, we headed up to the highlands of Santa Cruz to check out Los Gemelos (“The Twins”), two enormous sinkholes.

Since I've basically lived in my homestay for three months now, I considered myself an expert on the art of living with an Italian family. It's an adventure, to say the least. For me personally, it's not at all what I expected--but not necessarily in either a good or bad way. Before coming to Italy, I was really worried about the program only being thirteen people. I had this vision of spending time with my classmates during the week, and exploring Siena with my host family during the weekend.

Moroccan food is not like anything I’ve ever tasted before. There’s a very unique combination of spices that come standard in a lot of the dishes. I had originally assumed the food would be very spicy, like hot pepper on everything kind of spicy. As it turns out, most foods are very mild, but very flavorful and savory. My host family hires a girl named Fatima to help in the kitchen, and I’ve tried to ask her about the ingredients.

Getting ready to go to Morocco was really just me ignoring the fact that my flight date was rapidly arriving. People wanted to know what my “goals” were and how going to Morocco would help me on my “long-term career path”. I know that the right answer to those questions aren’t “I don’t know”, even if that’s the honest answer. I feel like a lot of people my age (myself included) have these vague, semi-true answers stock piled and ready for when adults ask these kinds of questions.

Europe is full of amazing cities, landscapes and new adventures. Barcelona happens to be one of the best locations to be if one wishes to fly to all these surreal locations. However, with this limitless amount of options staring the inexperienced American traveler in the face, it is easy to overlook the cities within Spain.

Before coming abroad, I didn’t really know what to expect from New Zealand, what the university would be like, I didn’t know where I would live, I didn’t know how the classes would be, and I didn’t even know what to bring in my luggage. This can be scary! Are you planning on studying abroad but have absolutely no idea how this is going to be like?