If anything, study abroad should serve to teach students of their own insignificance.

  It isn't going to hit me until I walk in the door of my home in Wellesley that my crazy, five month adventure in Italy is actually over. Currently, I am sitting in JFK airport during my three hour layover, waiting for my final flight to Boston. Just ten hours ago I was in Milan; I felt like I was a local, knew my way around like the back of my hand, had learned the language (proficiently enough to get by). I came, I saw, I did, and I left.

As this semester comes to a close, I thought I might make a brief list for those arriving to this marvelous city in the future of my top five favorite hot spots. From the best lunch-and-study spot to shopping second-hand, these are the places I will surely miss the most. 

1. Juice Bar

This week has been amazing because after a relatively long period of not seeing my parents, we were reunited in Berlin.

My parents are amazing people. Growing up they instilled in me a sense of adventure that culminated into my current semester abroad. When I first heard about study abroad programs back in middle school or so, they always promised me that wherever I ended up going, they would come visit me. Ten years later, they've kept true to their promise and trekked halfway around the world to come visit me.

Being in Europe calls for a Big Spring Break. I decided to spend mine in Italy (I mean, where else?) I figured that I wouldn’t have enough time to fully experience Rome, and still go other places as well, so my trip instead consisted of Verona, Cinque Terre, and Florence. Though Verona and Florence were both gorgeous, my favorite part of the trip had to be Cinque Terre, a national park that surrounds these five fishing towns built into the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean.

Of course it’s a given that you cannot visit Austria without visiting Salzburg – it’s almost sacrilegious. Funnily enough, though, my favorite part of Salzburg was not the beauty, or the “Sound of Music” saturated environment, or the musical history (so… much… Mozart!). My favorite part was a small town, just a little past Salzburg, called Hallein. The small town had an irresistible charm, and the salt mine located there was fantastic (at least, it was as long as you didn’t take it too seriously).

Though it is tempting to visit a different city or country every weekend while studying abroad, it is also important to just stay in Vienna once in a while. There is plenty to keep you busy within the city, and it’s nice to have some time off from all of the traveling. Thus, that is what I did!

Every Saturday the Naschmarkt (the huge food market near Karlplatz) holds a flea market. Of course this flea market often sells old junk, but in between you can also find some true treasures.

One of the things I love about Vienna is that the Rathaus serves more as a city and community center than I have ever experienced before, even when I lived in much smaller towns. It seems that every week there is a new event happening at the “Rathausplatz.” During Christmas time they have the Christkindlmarkt, and while I’ve been here they’ve had (among others) a Styria fest, a Formula 1 race car event, and, my favorite, a skating rink!

The weeks have been going by so fast! It's already May and I cannot believe it. A lot has happened since I last wrote and I am so glad I finally have the time to share my experiences. I chose to go on the field trip excursion with IES to Chiloe. It was an incredible decision on my part. Chiloe is an archipelago, south of Santiago. It is a beautiful place filled with a distinct culture. It is known for its folklore. IES planned a historian to talk with us about the legends surrounding the area.