Last weekend, I fell in love with Paris. After seven years of French classes and short essays about my imaginary summer in France, I finally got to eat croissants and crêpes in the shade of the Eiffel Tower, stand face to face with the Mona Lisa, and stroll down the banks of the Seine at dusk. Every neighborhood I explored became my new favorite—Bastille, Montmartre, le Quartier Latin, les Champs-Élysées.

I know that Thanksgiving hasn't occurred in the US yet...so this post may make me seem like an overeager person who can't wait to get into the holiday spirit! However, since there is no Thanksgiving celebrated here...the Christmas season has officially started. The start of the season has been marked by the opening of many Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) and Christkindlmarkt ("Christ Child" Maket) locations around the city.

Last week, 17 weekends into the program, I was finally ready to go to a boliche.

For those of you who don't know what that means, a boliche is an Argentine night club. To provide some context, they are crowded from 2 AM until they close at 6 AM on any Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night and my friends have been going at least once a week since we got here. 

I have been blown away recently! And I mean that in the most literal and figurative sense. It’s been immensely windy here in Dublin, and every day it seems I come back from my internship or classes and can hear the wind relentlessly blow through the keyhole of our apartment door, whistling loudly. It is almost frightening at times how strong it is, but it also makes for thoroughly cozy evenings, sitting and watching the nasty weather outside and enjoying a nice cup of tea inside. Truly peaceful.

           “Hello?” says the man sitting across from me on the Luas headed toward St. Stephen’s. It is just past noon. “What’s the craic?”

One of my very favorite things about Freiburg is the markets. All year long there is a daily market at the Münster called the Münstermarkt. There is tons of fresh produce, cheese, eggs, meat, bratwurst, tea and even little trinkets and toys.  It is always very lively and has a huge selection of great food. I loved to go there in place of a grocery store. There was also a tradition of walking over to get bratwurst for lunch.

1.) Dates: It would have been very useful to have a list with dates for all our midterms and final exams sent to us either during orientation or before we arrived. We are told to make travel plans before arriving, but as final exams are over a week long and cannot be made up, I know it would have made planning a little easier and less stressful for many to have had all our dates beforehand. That being said, explore when you can.