Hola a todos!

My flight was cancelled and my taxi dropped me off at the wrong hotel, but I finally made it to Madrid! I’m off on an adventure of a lifetime.

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Emma McQuade. I grew up in a small suburb north of Boston where I spent most of my days dribbling a ball up the soccer field. When I wasn’t on the field, I was on the beach. As a child, I was a sand castle sculptor, a skee-ball master and an ice cream connoisseur.

Yesterday I visited Ireland's first public library, Marsh's Library. The oldest book in their collection is from the 1490s alone. Old book smell was overpowering.

Thursday, January 21, 2016 3:46 pm

Colectivo (Madison, WI)

For my first post in Italy, I bet you were expecting me to say Siena is incredibly beautiful and I love it here. These are true statements, but unfortunately I ran into a little road block while settling in. After only a few days in Siena I got sick and had to stay home in bed while everyone else on the program was doing a scavenger hunt in the city. I felt sick in two ways. Both physically sick and homesick. I have been homesick before, but this was different. All I wanted to do is be at home with my family.

Upon scouring the interwebs with a plastic press to the keywords "study" and "abroad," you'll stumble upon the traditional packing list. While cleverly masked in popping titles that ooze an aura of PICK ME! PICK ME! PICK ME!, they all say the same thing.

Studying abroad has two components, doesn’t it? Study abroad. I think it’s pretty clear that I’m taking advantage of being abroad, but perhaps you question my current degree of academic commitment. Possibly to your surprise, I am actually going to school here. Though my last post makes it seem as though I am frolicking around as a tourist all day every day, I have successfully completed my second week of classes in London.

Expatiation: noun. to move or wander about intellectually, imaginatively, etc., without restraint.

“Out of the night that covers me,

      Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

      For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I wonder when London will stop surprising me with all of the amazing things going on. Probably never. This past weekend I saw some exhibits at the Lumiere Light Show in King's Cross, rode a boat along the Thames, and walked through various markets in Greenwich and Shoreditch where I had some amazing food and saw beautiful street art. 

Day 1: I’m in Chicago O’Hare waiting for my flight to London to board. Does this count as Day 1 if I won’t even be in Nice until tomorrow? I guess I can count this as Day 1 of experiences and journeying since this is the first step to Nice, even if I’m not there yet. London is my only connection, so I’ll take British Airways from Chicago à London à Nice. Easy. I don’t think my brain has caught up with my physical state of being ready to board a plane to London. Weird.

It has been about a month since my study abroad program in Freiburg ended. This seems crazy to me now. I'm still very much in a period of transition as I have yet to start classes back at my home school and I still get the question "How was Germany?" everytime I reunite with a friend or family member. This question is so hard for me and I imagine for many others who come back from a semester abroad. There is no way I could answer that question in a simple or concise sentence, phrase or even a few minutes of discussion.