Maria is a teacher.

I learned from her by teaching beside her. Each Tuesday and Thursday morning I would come by her side at a gymnasium (school for Austrians from 10-years-old to 18-years-olds) in the 18^th district of Vienna, as an English teacher intern.

This woman is steady. If the classroom is a harbor, all the little boats are tied tightly up at their docks, and the wind is calm. Maria is head ship. She is stern, untroubled, and smooth in her movements throughout the day. It is good to be in her sound wake.

During my fall break in the middle of October, I went through the United Kingdom with some friends. One of our stops was Edinburgh, Scotland where there was plenty to explore. Near the Royal Mile in the city’s center rests Arthur’s Seat. The hike up to the top only takes an hour at the absolute most. Here one can experience gorgeous views over the capital of Scotland. 

I went on my first trip since I arrived in Barcelona last weekend to Granada (I know, I’m a late bloomer). Being amongst buildings built centuries ago and seeing Moroccan style art for the first time amazed me. To top off the trip, I was even pranked by big group of  little kids which super fun and cute.

     My "Making of the Patagonia" class and I just returned from a long weekend trip to Bariloche, Argentina to enhance our studies by visiting face-to-face cultural sites about which we had read. In other words, we took a class field trip to Patagonia. 

     Bariloche is known by foreigners as a beautiful South American getaway - prime for skiing in the June, July, and August and spectacular for trekking in November, December, and January.

Since sharing about the restaurant Il Bio months ago, a lot has happened. In those months, I have made a lovely friend. Her name is Andrea, and she and her husband are the sole owners and employees of Il Bio.

I suspect that people are going to think that I don't even live in Morocco anymore with the amount of traveling that I've done in the past few weeks. But, I'm back now! Back and feeling extremely reflective on the past ten days that I spent traveling Spain and Portugal during the fall break. After the first four days with the IES Abroad program visiting Granada and Cordoba, the (what sometimes feels like a mammoth size) group of 28 dispersed into smaller cliques to do our independent travel.

It's easy to think of a study abroad experience as a break from the "norm" or a break from the everyday, and in many ways it is. Living in a place where everything is different can make it hard to imagine anything has stayed the same. Most of the time, finding these similarities is a pleasant surprise, but there's one similarity that isn't fun no matter what part of the world you're in--being sick.

Preface: I am sorry for letting so many weeks pass without an update and yet I am not, for I have been living so fully and presently that I have simply lost track of time. I promise to try to be a better blogger from here on out.

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It has been longer than I would have liked since my last post and I have had several friends and family asking "when is the next post?!" haha. Well, here ya go guys! I'm glad to finally have a little extra time to post about some of the really awesome experiences I've been having while abroad. This post, while still for the most part pertaining to mother nature, is very much focused on the expectantly long-lasting friendships I have made so far here in Japan on the IES Abroad Nagoya program.