English: It’s been quite the adventure here the past seven weeks, and the fact that I only have four more nights here is extremely bittersweet. There were points of homesickness this summer when I wished for this moment to come, but in the back of my head I always knew I wouldn’t want it by the time it happened, and I was right. I have to say, though, I truly feel like I’ve made the most of my time here. Until now, I haven’t felt like I was running out of time.

It’s been a little over a week now since I flew in to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. I wanted to wait before writing my final blog post so that I could share any feelings of reverse culture shock that I would possibly experience, but for me, that phase never really hit in a big way (yet, at least). When I got off the plane, I was so overjoyed to see my dad and sister waiting for me that all I could think about was how great it would be to relax at home for the next few weeks leading up to the fall semester, schoolwork-free!

One of the biggest stressors I faced in the week before flying to New Zealand was what I should bring with me.  I thought about what types of activities I saw myself doing while abroad, and also looked up the seasonal weather reports in Christchurch.  IES Abroad recommended that I try to pack everything into one suitcase and a carry on.  I almost succeeded, but ended up taking a suitcase, duffel bag, and a backpacking backpack full of clothes, camping gear, GoPro accessories, and other random items that got chosen to come along for th

            So I didn’t go to Rome. We missed the plane because of this thing called military time which, despite all the practice I’ve gotten up to this point, still isn’t my mental default. I was pretty mad at myself. If we’re gonna be real about it, I’m still pretty mad at myself. Not only was I pumped to go to Rome, but for the first time, I wasn’t taking the trip solo. Nothing like dragging another person down with you.

English: This past week has been an absolute blast – my family came to visit and I got to show them all around Barcelona and then I travelled with them to Rome for an amazing wedding! Until they came I noted down places that I wanted to take them and recommendations of things for them to do while I was at work. They stayed at a hotel in the Gothic Quarter, which is one of my favorite areas of Barcelona – old architecture and narrow alleyways everywhere you look.

“How is South Africa?”

Coming up on my final week in London, I’ve been reflecting on the whole experience. It has been wonderful and fulfilling. I am so happy I made the decision to study abroad here. I still feel as if I have seen so much and yet barely scratched the surface. For me, home is wherever I happen to be. So for the last month and half, London has been home. Though my home in Minnesota also has some benefits as well, and I have been missing them dearly.

Things I miss about Minnesota:

For the past few days, I've tried to make my time in Berlin go by as slowly as possible. Unfortunately, as it always is, the slower you want something to happen, the faster it seems to go. 

Here in Ireland, I am constantly surrounded by beauty in both the cities and the countryside. At the same time, the impact of the relatively recent wars and struggles are still incredibly visible. 2016 is an important year in Ireland because it is the 100^th anniversary of the 1916 uprising against English rule. The uprising, although it was an initial failure, sparked a movement. In 1922, independence was granted for the Republic of Ireland which consisted of 26 counties.