Hey everyone!

I have officially been in Brazil for a few days more than a month and the time has passed almost right before my eyes. I’ve realized me and roommates have just gotten some of the simpler things down, but still have so much left to learn and see. It’s really starting to set in that our trip to Peru quickly approaching and we’re eager to soak up as much Brazilian sun and Carioca culture as we can. Here’s a list of a few basic things we’ve finally mastered.

As I write this I am grappling with the idea that I will have been out of the United States for a month in just a couple days!! Life while studying abroad seems to go much faster than life at home, and I think it can probably be chalked up to the fact that there are so many new sensations to be felt, so many new experiences to be had, that time begins to make less sense.

Once you’ve landed at Galeao International Airport and start your journey to your new host home in Rio de Janeiro, you’ll notice small neighborhoods throughout the city. These are called Favelas and they’re home to the majority of Brazil’s working class. You may have heard a lot about what these small communities snuggled into the city are like, or you may be completely oblivious to their history in Brazil like I was.

It has now officially been a month and a half since we departed from home on this unimaginable adventure. We chose to dive head first into an unknown culture hoping we would be able to tread water long enough to learn to swim and I believe, so far, we have. All of us have found our comfort zones, our escapes from life’s pressures, and our security blankets here in Beijing. For some that is the cat café down the street (yes, a coffee shop filled with cats), for others that is found in the silences of the dorm rooms in the middle of the afternoon.

After a road trip of long talks, roadside adventures, and plenty of food with my host mom, I'm back in Santiago and registering for classes. This semester I'll be taking the third level Spanish course offered by IES Abroad (SP403). My Spanish has advanced more rapidily than ever over the last seven months. Of course, improving my Spanish was one of my main reasons for coming abroad. So many people go abroad to learn a language, and I've noticed how being abroad has immersed me:

This past weekend, the acting and IES Abroad students traveled to Northern Ireland. Here's the places we visitied, and the weirdness that ensued:

1. Castle Ward, Game of Thrones Winterfell set

     Archery, mountain biking, campfires, rain, mud, despair.

2. St. Patrick's Cathedral

     Supposedly Saint Patrick's official burial site. The keeper was skeptical and sassy.

3. Belfast, woo!

The stewardess' voice echoed throughout the cabin, and sleeping passengers began to regain their form. "Wheels down in Cape Town." I slid open the panel covering my window, and was met with a pure blue sky, framing a set of jagged mountains. Simply put, this place is epic.