When a song gets stuck in your head, it usually has words to it.  That is, the song is catchy and it probably has a smooth-sounding rhythm, but really what makes the song stick in your mind is its words, its lyrics.

I arrived in Geneva, Switzerland with my mother to stay with good family friends for a couple of days before the program started. We spent a day exploring the old castle of Gruyere and the Cathedral in Lausanne before taking the train back to Geneva. It was wet and rainy, but extremely fascinating. Though I know very little about architecture, I can still appreciate it. I loved Geneva. I found the history interesting and the transportation easily accessible.

This video covers the flight to Japan and the first day at Narita.

Weeks I’ve been in Berlin: 2

As of today, I’ve officially been in Freiburg for two weeks, and I think we’re finally starting to get into some sort of routine. There are even moments when I forget the fact that I’m in Germany and this is completely crazy! One of my biggest concerns going into this was what the classes would be like, so I thought I’d dedicate a post to the makeup of a typical school day.

We are our own worst critics. We let our fears stop us from achieving the things we dream about at night. Packing up a suitcase and traveling across the world can be daunting.

Let me let you in on a secret: We are all scared.

I’m a planner and when things don’t go as I expect, I tend to go a little crazy. But that’s the beautiful thing about travel; things will never go as planned and you must learn to be flexible.

As a student who loves to read, I’ve trained myself to look beyond taking things at face value. Words have much to offer, and taking words too literally leads to an experience that is unrewarding at best and downright misleading at worst. There is at least one notable exception to this rule, though: it’s the phrase thrown around more than any other with students who study abroad.

As I step off the train into Märkische Schweiz, I feel more or less at peace.  Last weekend, my feelings of contentment (of accomplishment) stemmed from my ability to navigate the Spree River alone, order a beer, and read a book to myself, completely unperturbed and doing it all for the sake of itself.

It has now been two weeks since I arrived home to America. My flight home was a stressful one; one bag too heavy (the shifting of clothing from luggage to luggage followed) three flights, three times going through security, one lightning storm that delayed flights and customs, thus caused one missed flight, the final ticket bought on a plane to Baltimore, a delayed take off, and then two missing pieces of luggage that were sent off to Washington D.C. without me. Sigh.

To whom it may concern, I have decided to compile a list of my preliminary observations about life in Santiago. I cannot begin without commenting on the heights here. I have to laugh a little because I have the great fortune of towering over the women and many of the men here. For those who do not know me personally, I stand tall at the above average American female height of 5’10”. For those that do know me personally, I ask you not to dispute that number because I will argue it until you pull out the tape measurer.