This is perhaps what I put the most thought into in the days leading up to my departure for Spain, and looking back on what I’ve been glad I brought along, what’s been unnecessary, and what I really wish I’d thought of before (as well as asking friends for their thoughts on the matter) I’m ready to share some packing tips with future IES Abroad Salamanca students.

This post continues the ideas of the previous one (“Cultural Differences (I)”).

6.Prices

IES Abroad staff talked to us about differences we’d notice between our lives here and at home, which helped us know what to expect. After spending a semester in Salamanca here are some of the things that have stood out to me (and fellow students from my program) the most:

1.Schedule

Q&A with Kasha

As part of our human rights course, my group had the opportunity to travel down the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and then to Bocas del Toro, Panama to speak with human rights defenders. In Costa Rica, we stopped in the communities of Cahuita and BriBri. Cahuita is a tranquila town on the Caribbean coast whose residents have co-ownership of the national park with the government. However, gaining co-ownership and management of the park was no easy task.

Recently, our program organized an overnight trip to Maastricht, a city that is located southeast of the Netherlands. We took a city tour of the picturesque city before stopping to sample the famous Limburg pies.  After wandering in the shopping streets, we were treated with a decadent three-course meal to end the first day.