Tonight, my friend and I decided to stroll around Sacre Coeur. I had found during my spring break adventure in Paris a cute piano bar and loved it. From the 14 euro three course formule, to the waiter, and of course the amazing piano player I finally have found a place that I can call “my own “in Paris. What upsets me about this neighborhood is the journey to get up to the Montmatre area. Sacre Coeur has a reputation for having some of the best scams in Paris.

It is hard to believe that I have been in this beautiful city for an entire week. I have to say that I am extremely impressed by the IES program and am very happy that I chose Santiago, Chile as my study abroad destination. I do not have any regrets. When I arrived at the airport, it was a huge relief to have IES staff members smiling and waiting to take me to my new home! Along the journey, I met a lot of college students who were studying abroad.

If you’re reading this, you can probably guess I’ve made it to Rio de Janeiro safely and in one piece! I’ve officially been here for 14 (WHOLE) days, and although Rio is really an amazing city full of style, art, and vibrancy, it is not for amateurs as I heard during my first week here. I don’t say this to scare people and students away from Rio, but to talk honestly about my experience so far.

     Spring break is over, and sadly the work load pre-midterms has taken place of sight-seeing Paris. I found staying in Paris to be very enjoyable as well as relaxing. I didn’t have to stress about miscommunication barriers in other countries, the hassle of going to the airport, or even making itineraries packed full of things to do. Instead, I decided to let myself be (gasp) lazy. I slept in, watched some Netflix, and wondered about Paris with some of my friends from IES who stayed in Paris.

It is the day before I leave for a semester in Freiburg, Germany to study Environmental Science and Sustainability, and I honestly have not put that much thought into what will happen when I’m abroad because I have been so caught up in packing and preparing for the initial journey. Despite my love of more exotic, biodiverse countries, I choose to study abroad in Germany to deeper immerse myself in a language and a culture I have already taken an interest in.

I grew up surrounded by Scandinavian culture, which is why – though not a Roman/Italian concept in the slightest – I am telling you about hygge.  The best words are always the least translatable, but the Danish people might point us to the comparable meaning of “coziness,” perhaps “companionship,” definitely a sense of warmth and solidarity.  To hygge (hYOO-guh) oneself is to be wrapped in a metaphorical blanket of goodwill, or in a group results in the emotional equivalent of a cinnamon-roll hug.  It’s a state of wel

I've spent the last week trying to figure out what on Earth I should write about for my pre-departure blog post.  Part of my struggle (or the majority of it, I should say) lies in the fact that I wasn't yet ready to leave.  I don't mean that in a proverbial sense but rather literally - I had nothing packed, hadn't cracked open either of my Berlin or Germany travel books, and opted to spend my last days re-watching "Friends" on Netflix.  Not the most productive I've ever been, to say the least.

I have now been in Ecuador a little over a month and a half and I am absolutely amazed at how fast the time has flown by. Upon arriving in Ecuador I had a variety of goals that I had set for myself that I wanted to complete throughout the semester.

AUSTRALIAN SLANG OF THE WEEK: "FLIP FLOPS" (US) = "THONGS" (AUS)

There are truly not enough words to describe what it is like to finally be in Sydney. From the gorgeous weather, the incredible landmarks, and the amazing people I have met so far, I could not be any more thankful for having the opportunity to experience this adventure. This week has been filled with memories that I will never forget.