I'm back home in Michigan now after six amazing weeks abroad. This blog, however, isn't about that so much as it is about my last week in Dublin; I spent the last six or so days running around the city and surrounding towns in an effort to cram in as much as I could before I came home, and as a result, didn't exactly leave time to talk about it here. Oops!
So many friends of mine have studied in Paris. When they return, Paris is always at the center of their heart. I have never been infatuated with Paris. My brief visit was unpleasantly rainy and hurried, so I brushed it off as a place that simply didn't suit me.
It's so weird to think that I'll be leaving in a week. It honestly feels like I just got here, just started to get accustomed to living here with 13 random people I've never met before. Honestly, if I could give any advice to anyone coming here, it would be to come in not knowing a soul. It has honestly been the greatest experience of my life coming here and getting to meet so many different people from so many different walks of life. I know I've defintitely found some people who I'll be friends with for the rest of my life.
It’s been almost a week since I returned from 3 ½ months of studying abroad in Japan and I’m doing pretty well so far. The jet lag hasn’t been as bad as I had expected it would be, although I still have to take naps now and then in the afternoon. However, I have experienced a bit of reverse culture shock coming back to the US. For one, it almost feels like I don’t quite fit into American society. I’m sure as I’m exposed more and more to American culture it will feel normal again, but the first couple of times I ventured out of my house felt weird.
A quick look at the previous posts I made reminded me that while they're reflective, they're not very functional to students who are considering spending Summer in Istanbul. So here's my first solely functional- no musings about life- post about how life here in Istanbul has been like so far:
When Julia Roberts embodied the spirit of American Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir “Eat, Pray, Love” in the text’s movie adaptation to widespread international acclaim, it offered insight into the continued allure of a fundamental human impulse- the desire to explore, to simplify and to rediscover. Regardless of our circumstances—and especially when we awaken to bleak prospects—it is in our nature to find an outlet for our emotions.
Before I came to Morocco, I was nervous about a lot of things. It’s always a little scary to get on a plane to a place you’ve never been to live in a country and culture so different from your own. Morocco is a predominantly Muslim country, so I knew there would be cultural and religious differences. I was also a little bit nervous about being in Morocco during Ramadan, which is Islam’s holy month.
