Paradigm: a framework

Two and a half weeks ago I arrived in the magical land of Buenos Aires, Argentina. In this short time, many preconceived notions about Argentina and Argentines have either been reinforced or proven to be false. 

Recently, I had a writing assignment for which I had to pick a city and create a schedule for a day trip, as if I were showing it to a friend.

What does one do when faced with a three day weekend? Jump onto a plane and hop on over Kraków, Poland of course! I left my Woman as the Writer class, went home and grabbed my suitcase, and then took a quick train from Landstraße to the Vienna Airport. A stop in Munich and another hour or so in the sky brought two friends and me to Kraków. We decided on staying in an AirB&B, and the very helpful Tomasz (our landlord of sorts) arranged for us to be picked up from the airport via a taxi; and thank goodness he did.

I had to stay in Quito this weekend because we had to celebrate my birthday with my extended host family and attend an art museum field trip for my art class. On Friday we decided to ride the cable car of Quito, or the Teleférico, up the volcano Pichincha that towers over Quito. It takes people halfway up the mountain to great views of the entire city, but unfortunately only on sunny, clear mornings.

I have a massive sweet tooth when it comes to French pastries, most specifically the pain au chocolat, or chocolate croissant. When I was planning my travel for this past weekend, I definitely considered locations depending their food (as that’s one of the most important things for me when I travel!). The promise of chocolate croissants was too enticing, so off to Lyon I went!

Bonjour from the Paris BIA center!

Hola! Ciao Ciao! Bonjour!

Spring break came early for our program! Je suis alléé en Espagne et en Italie. Here are some of my favorite experiences in these wonderful (and closeby) countries.

Adulting: (v) A word which here means mostly “feeding yourself” and “pretending like you aren’t lost even when you totally are.”

In the past week, four Germans and one American have asked me for directions. I’ve kept track. They come up to you and go, “’Schuldigung, wo ist Mumblemumblestraße?” (Or alternatively, "Guten Tag, sprecken see English?) and you have to pretend like you might be able to help.