Every semester IES Abroad Tokyo takes any program student that wants to go on a 4-day field trip. In the fall semester I believe they go to Kamakura; for spring semester, we all got to go to Okinawa.

I have always learned best when I am thrown into a situation and forced to figure out the solution; this is especially true of my navigational abilities.  No amount of showing me maps and giving me directions can match the sudden flash of realization when I understand where I am and how to get home.  I will (generally) remember that route forever.

Beneath the Roman ruins
Beneath the recent paint
Always another layer sits
Dormant, silent, faint

Temples buried beaneath the earth
Columns peeking out
On top, a gold and marble church
Surrounded by a crowd

It seems the city always sinks
Or the soil forever rises
For every time the Roman's dig
The ancient world surprises

Beneath the rubble, soil, and sand
Other worlds unfold
And given another million years
The soil will swallow this city whole

This weekend we're going to the Outback and this week was honestly just trying to prepare for it. We took a ton of naps because we knew we were going to be tired. That definitely sounds lame, but we were also tired from our weekend trip to Melbourne.

I have spent three weeks in Milan, and I now feel a sort of immersion calm, probably stemming from the routine I’ve fallen into. I now find myself following the flow of the city, rather than standing out like a blockade in the road. My Italian is coming along quite nicely (or at least I think it is…); I can navigate the city by metro, bus, or on foot despite my appalling lack of directional sense; and I am now able to discern whether or not a restaurant is a ‘tourist trap’ (a term we’ve coined for a wildly over priced establishment).

My 6 day journey on the Travers-Sabine Circuit through Nelson Lakes National Park was a game changer.  For starters, it was the longest track I’ve committed to, but the physical and mental stamina I put into completing it kindly rewarded me with the most beautiful sights and incredible experiences.  Each day my travel buddies and I encountered something new, whether it was snow, the clearest freshwater lake in the world (the Blue Lake), an incredible mountain saddle, or a beautiful, desolate rainforest.  The days go as follows...

For those of you who have done your research, you may be familiar with the 9 Great Walks in New Zealand.  You may also be familiar with the proposition that the Milford Great Walk is considered “The finest walk in the world.”

A few fun facts you need to know if you want to pursue this:

As an LGBT student, I was pretty nervous as I got on the plane to come here. Attitudes in China and America are both pretty mixed when it comes to genders and sexualities that are "outside" the social norm, and I was about to go to an unfamiliar place where I didn't know anyone at all, and didn't know how they would feel about me as a person. Upon my arrival I found a similar mix of perspectives among both American and Chinese students as well as community in Beijing.

Being back in the States is such a strange feeling. It seems all study abroad experiences end just as you're really starting to settle into things. Leaving Brazil was an experience filled with mixed emotions of relief, sadness, and honestly, not really knowing what to expect once I got back home.