Unlike most semesters, this spring I focused my studies on music. Being a double major, I normally split my attention between music and English, which allows me to learn about my two favorite things at once, but not as intensely as focusing on only one subject. So, this semester in Vienna was my chance to dive deep into classical music, and I ended up deeper into the subject that I thought I could go. In fact, I don't think I will ever think of music in the same way again.

So, first, a note on my last blog post. 

In retrospect, I feel kind of dumb about it, because I wrote the thing literally the day of the first practice, auditioned the next day, aaaand didn't get in. So tip to anyone who is interested in playing with the Humboldt: it is possible to not get in. 

 The hardest part about keeping a blog always seems to be figuring out where to start the blog posts. Reconfiguring and redirecting my experience in Morocco is something that feels so impossible I'm surprised I'm still writing now. 

This blog includes a couple pictures from some very different events. One bunch of photos is from a field trip that I went on with my Cultural Diversity of Ecuador class to a town called Salasaca. This town was once considered indigenous, but we learned that much of the indigenous population moved to the Galapagos when the economy was strong there, and a lot of the rest became generally more modernized and forgot about some of the old culture and customs.

This semester I'm enrolled in a French Gastronomy and Cuisine class here at IES Abroad, with a fantastic professor. This class focuses on various aspects of French food, like wine, cheese, regional specialties, as well as the history of French dishes and ingredients. We've even learned proper French etiquette. Throughout this semester, we've had wine and cheese or aperatif pairings, wine comparisons, learned how to properly taste a wine, and tasted other random foods. Honestly, this has been one of my favorite classes here.

On horseback, me and several other abroad students arrived at Quilotoa. Through a small town that is completely dedicated to tourism, we passed by hostels, restaurants and small stores selling hand-made crafts. It was a chilly day and the usual late afternoon clouds began to role in quickly. After dropping our stuff off at a hostel, we made our way down the steep, sandy trail with other tourists in abundance and young local boys leading donkeys up and down which the tourists could rent if they weren't up to the steep challenge.

The last time I visited Ireland was when I was an awkward child of more or less 8 years when I refused to kiss the Blarney Stone because, well, cooties, and this weekend I got to visit Dublin once again with an old friend of mine from London! My friend, Hannah, used to live down the street from me in New York when we were both growing up, and now that she lives in England, I don’t see her quite often, so it was wonderful to spend the weekend with her in Dublin!