A few weeks ago (note: I used the word “weeks”) I got a friendly little reminder from IES about a Valentine’s Day blog. I chuckled and moved on with my life..and then my second reminder came a week later asking me to talk about what I love about Siena or how I’d be spending the holiday. I took the two emails as a hint that they were really jazzed about Valentine’s Day.
There are many reasons that I chose to study abroad in Ecuador. Food is not one of them. Potatoes are far from my favorite (I don’t even really like potato chips or french fries) as as a former vegetarian, I prefer to only eat small quantities of meat once or twice a week.
As part of our project of getting to know Spain better, my housemate and I decided to head to Mérida this weekend, in the province of Badajoz in Extremadura. This was the best weekend trip I’ve ever taken!
I know I searched the internet tirelessly for little cultural differences before arriving in France, but there are a few things that I’ve picked up on here that you should know if you’re thinking of visiting France.
The Sidewalks of Paris
Left to Right: Natalie, Sarah, Brittany, Taylor
Behind is a close up view of the Oriental Pearl Tower and surrounding colorfully lit buildings from a boat on the Huangpu River.
My ankles are sore and I have blisters on my feet; sun kissed cheeks and a camera full of new pictures. It has been a long day with lots of waiting and stress, but also a wonderful day during which I finally arrived in Sydney and had time to explore. It all began with a six hour flight from Charlotte to San Francisco, then one hour layover, and fourteen hours to Sydney. My luggages were overweight, I was the last person on and off the planes, and the large jumbo jet did not have personal tvs.
My two months of preparation have seemed like a journey in itself–a journey towards another journey if you will. Between the road trips and shopping trips, working as a babysitter for four beautiful children, and spending time with my family, the day has finally arrived. Tomorrow I will be boarding an eleven hour flight out of JFK and landing in Buenos Aires at approximately 4:40AM.
During orientation, we took an overnight trip to Springfield. When we got there, we checked in at a hostel called Smylies and dropped off our things. The hostel gave us sandwiches for lunch and then we all headed out for our adventures. First stop, we went to a kayaking triathlon type competition. I’m not sure exactly what it was, but we went down to the river to watch the kayakers come in and get on their bicycles. It was really cool.
We’ve been doing lots of snorkeling during our free time after class! We’ve seen a variety of species including Moorish idols, parrotfish, iguanas and lobos! The biodiversity here is incredible and the wildlife is not afraid of people because most species here have no natural predators. We are finishing our module 2 class tomorrow and have a final exam… then on to module 3!
As I am writing this post I am 5 days away from having lived in Cape Town for almost an entire month! Time really flies here, and it feels like only yesterday that I arrived. I have been really lucky to have had a couple of weeks to explore Cape Town and South Africa before classes at University of Cape Town (UCT) start to limit my travel during the week.