My adventure in Japan is nearing its end – there are less than two weeks until Nanzan’s closing ceremony. I have handed in essays for my Japanese Society and Tea Ceremony classes, and will be free after two Japanese tests next week. Since classes are now over, I make it a rule to try to not stay at home too much, and to get out and experience Nagoya whenever I can.

Tomorrow (well, technically later today) is my last exam at Trinity College Dublin. After 4:00 PM, GMT on 9 May, 2014 I will be finished with my academic connection to Ireland.

I’m not ready for this.

I’m not sure if I hinted at the fact that my lovely, powerful, unbelievably great mother may have made an appearance in Cape Town a couple of weeks ago, but just to let all of you know, the rumor is true! While in Kruger, I met up with my mom who had just arrived after flying the dreaded 15 hour flight to Cape Town. The second she arrived at our shared hotel, I attacked her and the concierge probably thought I was a maniac, but getting to hug my mom again was so worth it.

The semester is winding down, with a only week left until I leave Milan. This, of course, means finals week is fast approaching. I have to say that as much as I love it here, being abroad unfortunately doesn’t make the end of the semester any less stressful. It feels mostly like finals week at home, except that it’s impossible to find anywhere to buy index cards. How else am I supposed to memorize fourteen weeks of verb conjugations?

South Africa is notorious for having a million public holidays in April, and as exchange students, we take FULL advantage of these days off. For one of the recent long weekends, a couple friends and I decided that we wanted to go back to the Garden Route, which we had visited during the beginning of our stay here. We wanted to do some different things at our own pace, without the rush of having a set schedule everyday.

Rome was breathtaking! I cannot believe how amazing the city can be. From gelato to the trevi fountain. I walked for miles and saw so much. As I walked through the city  I was reminded how lucky I was to be travelling to all these magnificent places. I could not help but feel sad for some of my family members that had died without seeing these amazing sculptures, paintings, architecture and the Vatican City.

Last week I attended a very formal conference near Bebek, a very famous area in Istanbul. It was required by my class to go so I attended, when I arrived I was amazed. The conference took place in a museum founded by the university in honor of the founding father Sakip Sabanci, a business entrepreneur. The museum has waterfront view of the bosphorus, it simply breathtaking. The conference was with Madeline Albright, former US Secretary of State. She spoke about Turkey’s globalization and the current issues in Turkey. Overall, super successful!

I walk under one tree on my way to school.

This is the hard truth about living in the Rabat medina. Nature has been greatly missed.

A while ago, some friends and I took a day trip into Northern Ireland. Our first stop was Carrick-a-Rede, a tiny island connected to the mainland by a 100-foot high rope bridge that swayed ominously. The sun was surprisingly visible, the water was absurdly blue, and from the cliffs we could see an island used as a filming location for Game of Thrones and the dim outline of Scotland.