Leaving Siena was incredibly difficult and while I'm happy to be seeing friends and family again there is so much I miss. Our last few days of the semester were filled with finals which were partially stressful because there were a million other things to do before leaving and kind of helpful as it definitely distracted us from sadness of it. Saturday we had a little get together of everyone in the program and their language exchange partners and Italian friends. It was really fun having everyone together and meeting new friends.

Culture shock is defined as the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country, a move between social environments, or simply travel to another type of life.

Finals week observation: I always thought that Red Bull looked a lot like gasoline.  In that case it’s not a little punny to say that I’ve been burning a lot of midnight oil recently.  I have a large backload of material to publish on the blog, so forgive me in advance for the flood.

In a similar vein as my last post, I’d like to share a reflection on my internship this spring semester.  I’ll try a new format.

As the days get warmer and longer, Amsterdam really comes alive. People are biking and walking from the morning until late at night. As I sit in cafes and day dream while avoiding a certain final paper, I wonder if anyone actually works or goes to school here. The locals always seem to be out an about making their way to whatever destination they are headed to or just laying alongside the canals. I envy their relaxed nature and attitudes.

Early Saturday morning, April 17, we boarded our special Time Machine Craft named Air New Zealand and landed in Rarotonga (the Cook Islands) on Friday evening of April 16 (okay maybe all we did was cross the International Dateline but it’s a lot more fun to tell people you traveled back in time).