After 3 safety talks during orientation, Quito has been made out to be a scary, dangerous city. But using our new knowledge to take proper precautions, a friend and I have taken to exploring the city.

Hello!

It is no secret that the Chinese people have a long tradition of tea drinking. Nowhere is this fact more evident than Beijing’s famous 马连道 (Mǎliándào) Tea Street. Last Sunday, we took the public bus from BěiWài to a four-story concrete tower packed full of authentic Chinese tea shops. The shops boasted every kind of tea imaginable, with each variety categorized under one of six main types of Chinese tea: White (白茶), Green (绿茶), Black (红茶), Oolong (青茶), Pu’Er (普洱茶), and Yellow (黃茶).

I won’t say that I’ve always known that I was lucky to grow up as an English speaker, but I will say that I have been aware for a long time that being a native English speakers is an incredible boon in the international community of modern times.

said the waiter at the first restaurant I ate at in Dublin. Or, that’s what he would have said if I was the hugging type and didn’t have very good impulse control.

You’re confused. Let me explain.

It is time for an adventure abroad… a long, four-month adventure to the country of Morocco! What am I feeling? Mostly two things: Excited, of course. This is going to be an amazing semester; I know it. The second feeling is being unprepared. This is for a few reasons. First, I don’t know any Arabic yet, and with Arabic being one of the country’s official and most spoken languages, communication might be difficult. However, I am looking forward to using my French to help me.