Although I have had some stressful days since being here (one month and three days!), there’s one thing that remains constant and reliable: the quality and variety of French FOOD.

Fridays:

La Mercè is an annual festival that takes place in Barcelona to celebrate the Virgen de la Merced. This is a weeklong celebration that started on September 18th and ended on September 24th. The last day of the celebration is the biggest day, which included activities like a parade of the giants, Castellers (human towers), concerts, and an amazing fireworks show at the end of the day. This was a fun filled day and the best part was that all the events were free!

Parade of the Giants!

A few weeks into my Parisian séjour, and I find myself quickly learning the limitations of my French conversation skills. When a new French person says something to me in French, it takes me a moment to internalize, translate, and react via a spoken response. By the time I finally get my thoughts together, the person has either assumed: a) I do not speak French, or b) that I am rude or strange for staring at them in silence or c) both.

A few weeks into my Parisian séjour, and I find myself quickly learning the limitations of my French conversation skills. I've found that when a new French person says something to me in French, it takes me a moment to internalize, translate, and react via a spoken response - by which time the person has either assumed I do not speak French or that I was offended by what they have just told me.

Before coming to London I didn't really believe in magic. Sure, I enjoy the occasional card trick and I've seen every Harry Potter movie at least three times, but this all seemed like fiction to me. However, since coming to London my belief has changed. I've been here for about a month now and I have experienced some of the most magical things that I never knew I would experience in my lifetime. Magical Moment #1: It all started with our trip to the Warner Brothers Studios!

05 October 2015 Throughout the semester, I applied to participate in the Field Placement program. I am a participant observer at a nursery school in Chiba Prefecture. Every week I go to the nursery and play with, teach, and have fun with the cutest little children. This past Saturday I was invited to the school’s Sports Day, so a friend and I went to see all the cute kids perform various athletic activities.

If there were one spot that I could always find peace and relax, it would be on the bench that overlooks the ocean on a cliff at Taylor’s Mistake in Sumner. The Port Hills twist and curve throughout the landscape and I can see for miles out into the big refreshing clear turquoise blue water. I close my eyes and I can smell the fragrant bright purple and yellow flowers with a hint of salt in the air. I could sit in this spot for hours as the sun cascades the hills.

01 October 2015

During Silver Week, a holiday or break during the Fall Semester, four other friends and I went to Kyoto for 3 days. We took the bullet train or Shinkansen straight to Kyoto Station on a Sunday afternoon. Besides moving at a speed of about 200mph, the 2-hour Shinkansen ride was just another train ride.