Believe it or not, I am currently writing my last IES student blog. As I sit one of my favorite cafes in my barrio, I am wondering what am going to write about and how I can possibly wrap up an entire 4 months in a foreign country into one blog. For starters, our IES program ended last week, and almost all of the students are already back in their normal habitats in the United States. (I know this, because I am getting snapchats) 

“Do you have tap water?”

“Well we do have to wash things sometimes so…”

That’s the sassy and hilarious response we received from the waitress when we tried to get free water during our first meal in Germany, if that’s any indication of our overall competency in Europe. My friends and I have affectionately named our experience and future band “The Struggle Bikes.” It’s a play on the expression “riding the struggle bus,” but since we ride bikes in Amsterdam, struggle biking seems more fitting.

There was definitely some difficulty in deciding what we wanted to do for this week because we mostly had outdoor activities planned and it rained pretty much all week. We really were not prepared for the cold even though we knew it was winter here. That's probably a point that I would stress a ton... it is winter. While it isn't extremely cold, it is chilly in the houses and in the morning on the walk to class.

Still though! It is really, really pretty and we've been able to do some really cool things.

This past weekend, IES was kind enough to arrange a trip for the Dublin Studies and Internship programs to visit Northern Ireland. In three days, our plan was to cover Belfast's oldest pub, Crumlin Road Gaol, the Rope Bridge, the Giant's Causeway, Dunlace Castle, a hike over waterfalls, and an unofficial visit to a local karaoke bar. We started with an overcast day, leaving bright and early for lunch in Belfast.

The past two weekends, I have been lucky enough to explore more of Morocco. After our amazing trip to Dakar, the entire group caught the travel bug and was ready to see more of our host country. For those of you reading this and considering taking a trip to Morocco or studying abroad in Morocco, traveling around within the country is a must.

            Buongiorno! That means good morning or good afternoon in Italian. In just two sessions of my Italian 101 class I have learned how to count, say my alphabet, greetings, and forms of “to be” or “to have”. It really helps to come home to an Italian family and hear them talk in Italian all the time. The two different classes I am taking this summer are an Italian language class and a history and culture of food and wine in Tuscany, Italy class.