I’ve been staring at my suitcase now for close to thirty minutes. I pulled it out from my parent’s closet, on the top shelf that I can only reach by standing on my tiptoes. It was buried under three other suitcases that almost toppled onto my head as I yanked the largest looking one from the bunch. The suitcase is large, kind of square, black, tan inside, rather dusty, smells like my parents. But soon it will smell like me.
The first few days have been crazy between settling in, getting to know my host family, orientation, walking tours around the city and just taking in all Siena has to offer!
Anytime that you go to a new city it takes time to get acclimated and learn how to get around, the best local hang out spots, and the vibe of the city overall. Prior to going to college, I had lived in St. Louis my whole life and it wasn’t until moving to Philadelphia for school and Boston last summer that I really had to learn a new city on my own.
It officially has been a week since I have left good old Minnesota for fancy pancy Paris! A lot of things have happened since I've been here in Paris. I've had some great adventures here while in Paris and some normal day-to-day activities as well. I feel like I’ve officially started to get into the grind of things here in Paris. I have a set schedule, started walking to school, and even have managed to put on more black clothing than I have thought was possible. Yes, the more black clothing the better.
It was the first time I brought my camera out but boy was it worth it! Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures within Windsor and it rained while we were at Eton. So not my best photos (I promised they improve) however it was the first real outing and it was a ton of fun! I highly recommend everyone going and visiting the Castle as well as walk through the adjacent town of Windsor and Eton college. A quick and fun story we learned during out time there... The photo titled Gapped Columns has to do with the Guildhall of Windsor.
My first week in Spain has now come to an end, and the experience has been nothing short of amazing to say the least. The week was kicked off with a delicious Spanish 3 course lunch, where we first were introduced to everyone in the IES Madrid Program. The rest of the afternoon was dedicated to orientation on subjects such as academics, behavior, and of course safety.
On a brisk January day my roommates and I set out from our flat to Pearse Station, the DART station next to Trinity in the city center. The DART, is a train that runs outside the city to several seaside towns, including our destination for the day, Howth. The Howth trip was one of the IES sponsored excursions outside Dublin. After the usual confusion of assembling a group of young adults, we all boarded the DART bound for the seaside village of Howth.
