Around the end of the program, I was really starting to get into sort of a funk. My work schedule was becoming a little mundane, very repetitive.

Today I was looking through old tweets from a few years ago. I do this because I consider myself funny (for the most part) and like to remember what I was thinking about and how I was feeling at that moment in time.

Crank! The airplane seat behind me screeches back. Like, all the way back. All of a sudden, my TV, aptly enough, playing old reruns of Curb Your Enthusiasm (Bum, Bum, Bum) becomes full screen and in my face. Big sigh. Especially since this wasn’t a normal airplane.

There are truly no words to explain the Chatracas (Waterfalls) de Iguazú! My friends and I had a fantastic time. This will be an experience that I’ll remember forever. We traveled with Bais, a company in Argentina that organizes amazing trips to places all over Latin America. We were on the bus for about 18 hours!  So, when we reached the hostel, all we wanted to do was to take a long, hot shower and go to sleep.

This past Saturday, I woke up at 4 am to hastily pack the remains of my shirts and assorted, mismatched socks into my already-too-full suitcase, took one last look around the place I'd called home for the past six weeks, and left the apartment to catch a 6:34 am train out of Berlin. 

     My final days in the US crept up on me, and then once they were there they sped right on by, and in no time I was on a flight out of Minneapolis, bound eventually (24 hours later…) for Christchurch, New Zealand! Since being here, I have taken part in the spectacular events planned for the IES Abroad students by Eunice, our absolutely incredible program director. We spent some time getting to know each other, learning more about Christchurch, and being taught some Kiwi dialect.

So I was dropped off at the airport, checked in my bags, went through security, the usual. I was excited to be leaving for South America. Then it happened again…I truly am an unlucky person when it comes to flights. I get to my gate, and there it was….flight delayed. IF the delayed flight came in, I would have had thirty minutes to rush through the gigantic airport that is Miami international to catch my connection to Lima, Peru.

 Taking it one day at a time is much easier said than done. I’ve been stuck in the hamster-wheel effect up until the academic year ended. Continually running in circles, struggling to keep up with the demands of academia, with work, with keeping stress levels to a manageable level (and failing miserably). Then summer arrives! (Bringing the 50+ hour work weeks). I got this! (Or rather, I got to do this to pay my tuition bill).