I’m feeling a bit guilty.  Because Salamanca is so close to the Portugal/Spain border, I was able to travel to Portugal for a weekend.  And I fell in love.  Coimbra and Lisbon, two of the cities I visited, were bathed in warmth and sunshine, two things that Salamanca has been quite lacking.  Surrounded by sunshine, beach, colors and textures, I forgot Portugal’s sole purpose wasn’t to encapsulate the feeling of summer.  It was like some alternate reality after the cold and wind and rain of Salamanca. 

I've been working on this post for a while, because it was very apparent to me when I first came to Chile that santiaguinos don't realize how great their city is. If you ask a Chilean what they think about Santiago, more than likely they'll mention how awful the pollution and transantiago are.

Hey everyone!

I take back what I said in my first blog post.  Terrorism does concern me.  By now, everyone has heard about the attacks that occurred in Brussels, and it’s fair to say that we are scared.  A few months ago, despite growing up in a post 9/11 northern New Jersey culture, I didn’t realize that an attack can happen anywhere at any time.  I was naive and I regret that I thought I was immune to this type of danger.  When an attack isn’t a world away, it makes you think.  Truthfully, I debated canc

Two hours of hard street soccer, and my white shirt is soaked through with sweat, and the top of my right foot stings from lacing the leather ball at the opposing teams goal. 

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016 22:50

Trans Mediterranean Ferry off the Coast of Barcelona

Next week is already midterm week, which marks the halfway point of my time abroad. In fact, two months from today will be my first full day back in the States, which will be a culture shock of its own. Realizing I have almost two months down, but still two to go is a conflicted feeling for me. By now, I would say I’ve experienced the majority of the culture shock and also, conversely, fascination with the culture.