Recently made popular again, by The Fault in Our Tears movie coming out, Amsterdam was a must-see on our list for weekend travel. My roommates and I packed up and headed to the Netherlands for a short while. We arrived in Amsterdam Thursday night to an airport full of Christmas lights! We then made the trip to our cute little air b&b.

Today, I called someone out for making a bad joke. It wasn’t a “knock-knock-who’s-there,” it was about race and sexuality, and their insensitivity was laced throughout the entire delivery. I won’t say what it was because, to be honest, it was so foolishly narrow-minded that it made me wonder if they’re actually a real person.

I’d certainly anticipated Thanksgiving day to be full of homesickness, but, surprisingly, it wasn’t at all. Almost all of the students got together to create a miniature feast for ourselves in one of the apartments.

Well, the idea was that it would be a miniature feast. The actual event had more food than we knew what to do with.

While taking my Spanish course during the beginning of my semester abroad, I watched a documentary called Quebrando los Huevos de Oro. This documentary highlights the negative impact of the tourism industry in Costa Rica. Though it may contribute to the growth of the country’s economy, the tourism industry damages communities and the environment. Similar to what is happening on the islands of Bocas del Toro, foreigners come to Costa Rica and buy land for the purpose of building extravagant hotels, golf fields, and condominiums.

As I sit in my room today, I’m reflecting on this experience–the wisdom gained, the skills learned, the people I’ve met, the places I’ve seen. At this point, I can’t imagine not returning to spend a lengthy portion of my life here in Madrid again after this is all over. Truly, this place has become a comfortable home for me. My host parents, Jose and Maribel, treat me as if I am one of their children, and they have definitely felt like parents these past three months.

The end of the semester is finally here. I don’t really know how I feel about it yet, but I want to spend some time reflecting on it.

I have made friends with so many amazing people that I can’t even describe how fun my adventures with them have been. It still astonishes me how we all ended up at Nanzan University to study Japanese in Japan. In all, I am very grateful for all  the friendships that I have made this semester.

After a long 11-hour bus ride from Freiburg, I arrived home late Sunday night to an apartment filled with Christmas decorations. After two weeks of traveling it’s good to be back in Berlin, a familiar city.