I can’t believe we’ve already come upon and flew by our midway point in the semester. I only have one month and 4 days left until I’m on my way home! Witchcraft!
So, as we reviewed for our midterms, I figured I’d also offer up a halfway point review of IES Berlin Language and Area Studies so far.

After the last two weeks, I might be a little closer to figuring out what cultural diversity means in Spain. These photos are a mashup of a day trip to Toledo with IES and my recent explorations in Madrid. Toledo is a genuinely multicultural city, as Christians, Jews, and Muslims coexisted peacefully there during a time when they warred elsewhere in the country. Within Madrid, I attended my first-ever flamenco show and played in the city’s most diverse neighborhood.

I only have one week left until I’m officially done with my time at Melbourne University!! I’ve finished two research papers and have two more left to hand in and then I’m off to Brisbane with my mate Sarah for three days. We’ve booked a trip to the circus and a full-day tour to Moreton Island where we’ll be snorkeling above shipwrecks and then learning to sandboard. Since classes finished at the end of October the majority of my time has been spent in the library. However, I did manage to go out on Halloween with a few friends (I was a vampire).

The word sacrifice has many meanings. If we’re using the noun, we could mean that sort of hand-wavy, metaphysical idea of something given up. Or we could be referring to the original meaning, an actual object that is sacrificed the old fashioned-way, knife, altar, and all. And then there’s the verb, similar to the noun except that it could mean “giving something up” or it could mean “slitting something’s throat.” Mild semantic distinction.

But we’re going to talk about the actual verb, to sacrifice. Yes, I mean the knife-and-altar business.

I went to Puerto Madryn to see the Penguins at Punta Tombo and the sea lions there. I saw thousands of penguins and kayaked with hundreds of sea lions! It was beautiful and really an amazing experience. I also went to El Calafate to climb the Perito Moreno Glacier (the biggest glacier in Los Glaciars National Park), and to El Chalten and ride horses through the mountain even getting a small glipse of Fitz Roy!

Random pictures from our visit to the Casa Rosada, the Obelisk, the Tigre River Delta, the giant flower in Recoleta, a wine tasting seminar, and a night of tango at La Catedral! Such typical Argentine activities!

A sneak-peak at some of my life goals:

My yoga studio/bedroom

-Achieve Enlightenment and sustained happiness

-Play with a monkey (CHECK!)

I think that I have been delaying this blog post as long as possible. Maybe it is because I am in denial that it will be my last entry before I leave this country. Maybe it is because the impending cold weather has made me lazy. Maybe it is just because I have been bogged down with work during finals week.

Beyond the red light district and coffee shops, Amsterdam is buzzing with a creative culture filled with art, music, great food, and cheap drinks. The city itself is very picturesque with canals spread throughout and plenty of shops and bars full of character. The Jordaan neighborhood in particular was home to many of the eclectic and culinary saavy hangouts inhabited by a very young crowd. If you have the chance to visit, I highly recommend going. It was among one of the coolest places I have been while abroad.