Welp.  This has started out as an interesting journey.  I’ve been trying to write this blog all week, but I just couldn’t bring myself to it.  I spent the whole week spending time with various family members, trying to get the most I could out of my time left at home.  Honestly, I was pretty numb.

One of the main regrets I’ve heard from previous students who studied abroad in Christchurch is that they never actually spent time in Christchurch.  Besides the first week I spent here with IES Abroad, I was starting to become part of this group.  During the 4 months I spent in New Zealand, I only spent three weekends in Christchurch.  During the week I would go on day trips to Riccorton, New Brighton, or Sumner, but I always chose to travel rather that stay in Christchurch on the weekends.  Looking back I don’t regret this beca

Studying abroad in Madrid, I feel like I’m collecting communities. For example, I have my home community in my homestay and my community of Madrileños that I’ve met since coming to this city. I also have my IES Abroad community, a group of people who deserve more attention on this page given how integral they have been to my experience. This was a week of the IES Abroad community at its best, and I want to use this blog post to highlight a few examples of what made it so great.

When I was home in London, I tried to do as many of my favorite things as possible. I explored different parts of town, I revisted the National Gallery, I ate at my favorite restaurants, I wandered along the shopping streets, and I spent a lot of time in my comfy bed.

I've been working at a magazine for the past two weeks (and hopefully for the next five), and it's been challenging and rewarding.

I suppose those terms aren't all that descriptive, but they certainly are expected for when something of this caliber is going well. That being said, I never thought I'd be able to call myself a journalist, primarily because I've never had any interest in being one. But I do enjoy holding the title, and the associated tasks accompanying it.

Bonjour de New York,

The goodbye dinner was fun and very sweet. The program directors all said very nice things about how they would miss the group, and we all knew we'd miss each other. It was no doubt a very special and great group that I got to spend my entire abroad experience with in Ecuador. At the dinner we all got to bring our host moms or another family member.

My time in Paris can be described in one word: enchanting. Of course there are many more words and feelings I could use in attempt to convey my love for this city, but enchanting does a pretty good job of encompassing it all. Although I was busy, I was busy within the buzzing city. I was also tired, but tired from exciting days filled with new experiences. I was also wet from the rain, but who can complain about the beauty of Paris under the gleaming streetlights under a hazy night sky?

I've been losing track of all this time I've been in Japan. First a week in Ibaraki, then some time with IES Abroad in Nagoya, and finally my first full week at Nanzan University. It's been incredibly busy and incredibly fun being here in Japan, and the program at Nanzan University is really impressing me with not only the magnitude of learning material, but all the trips and experiences offered to students.

Culture shock.

It’s the first thing you’re going to have to deal with living when anywhere outside of your home country. When living abroad you might find some behaviors that shock you, but be wary not to condemn them just because they are unfamiliar to you. This is their culture, and the only way to get over culture shock is to accept the new and the strange.