After a busy morning of orientation, the group headed to the Langa township. Here we learned about the history of Langa, visited the local art center, looked around the hostels, cautiously tried a bite of Smileys (otherwise known as sheep heads), dined at the Mzansi family restaurant,  and fell in love with the kids running around giving us high-fives.

“Creo que te vas a encontrar con hispanos,” my mother says to me as I lay in bed reading, making a pointed decision to not pack.

Hello everyone! It has been about two weeks since the summer program began and this weekend IES Abroad took us on our field trip to the old capital of Japan, Kyoto! First of all I want to thank IES Abroad for this opportunity, because they planned a lot for us to do in such a short period of time. Because of this, I was able to see all that I wanted to in Kyoto plus more!

I've had many small successes since arriving in Berlin. I can take public transportation around the city like a pro. I can order a chai latte from a coffee shop in German. I finished an entire jar of Nutella ("50 g gratis!") in less than a week. 

Recently, I took a trip to Howth for a hike with IES Abroad which was absolutely stunning and a great way to explore nature outside the city of Dublin without traveling too far away. As we rode the DART, I noticed the names of the stops, first listed in English, then listed in Gaelic. This was a subtle reminder that I was in Ireland.

We visited so many famous landmarks in and around Beijing this week that I decided to dedicate this post just for them!  I have always been curious to understand China’s rich history ever since I took that AP World History course back in high school.  Having the opportunity to actually see and touch the sites really deepened my understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture.  

Tiananmen & Forbidden City

I’ve been in Paris for three weeks now and I can’t believe my time here is halfway over! This trip has already been more than I could ever have imagined it to be, and I’ve learned so much from living here. Living abroad has definitely taught me several life lessons; especially debunking the notion that everything done in the United States is the “right way” while everywhere else is “weird”.

I’m here! I am in Amsterdam! Getting here was an adventure but first I want to address my predeparture fears now that I am postdeparture.

Food

Food is very cheap here. The grocery store is manageable. My roommate and I have done some cooking for each other which is nice. I have been eating a lot healthier too, especially because my roommate is vegan.

In the one week that I’ve been in Barcelona, I’ve already managed to get lost several times.  It always goes the same way:  I search for the directions to a popular tourist site on google maps and start walking in that direction.