45:21.

5) LA TOUR HASSAN 

How do you prepare yourself for the end of something great?  And how do you possibly say goodbye to people and places that have shown you warm hospitality with great love?  These questions have preoccupied my mind for the last few days as the end of my study abroad experience rapidly approaches. And although I do not have answers for them, I continue to ask myself these questions over and over again, especially today.

Hi, everyone! It still hasn’t sunken in that I’m going to Beijing for two months, even after I’ve started collecting stuff for the trip. I have been reading some blogs from other students that have been in the Beijing programs, and these are some tips I’ve picked up:

Technologic, Technologic

When I was 13, I left the country for the first time. Coming from a typical Midwestern suburb, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the cliffs and harbors of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia. I remember instantly feeling at home as I took in the lighthouses, old cemeteries, rolling sand dunes and meadows. I wanted to remember that feeling forever. So I started collecting little mementos from around the island: business cards, receipts, brochures.

Last weekend, I visited some extended family in Edinburgh. Not only did I get to crash on their couch and play with their cats, they knew the best places to go and the fastest ways to get there – a key advantage to visiting locals.

There’s too much to tell and not enough time to tell it.  My 3 week break was filled with so many amazing experiences on my travels, but I’m going to move on from the North Island to my travels on the South Island with my parents.  I flew back to Christchurch on Thursday morning super early and met my dad at the airport there.  Our planes got in right around the same time.  We spent the first day relaxing, eating pizza, and then he fell asleep and didn’t wake up again until the next day, so I just did some homework that night.

Being able to travel to Greece was a desire of mine, but as my study abroad experience was coming to an end I told myself that I wouldn’t be able to make it. It felt like as soon as I had come to terms with not being able to go, it all started to work out. One of my roommates here in Rome is Greek, and she offered to let us stay with her in her house while visiting. As soon as I heard that, I knew Greece was actually going to happen, and I could not have been happier.