1) The Barceloneta sunset is one I will never forget, I have countless memories in this city and they always end in the same amazing sunset
 

2) Over the course of the fall semester I have met more amazing people than ever, all relationships that I am happy to say I will continue to keep in the future.
 

3) As I am beginning to make my transition from Barcelona back the cold temperatures in Massachusetts the biggest surprise was to come home to a yard full of snow and a snowman happy as ever.
 

Coming home is the hardest part of going abroad. Things are weird. The money is weird. The people wear sweatpants. The condiments are free. It’s not natural.

Coming home, I was lucky in that I had plans lined up, like babysitting for some of my favorite kids and going to the movies. If I didn’t, I would’ve sat in bed and cried even more. It’s hard not to sulk, but throwing yourself into something makes life a lot easier.

Sheesh, does this take me back! Our very first field trip with each other barely knowing one another. We knew everyone’s intros – full name, home town, university everyone attends – but we were still strangers in this new world. For me, I wanted to learn more about myself through the trip and network with other kids on the trip.

A few weeks ago walking home from class, tired and hungry as usual right before lunch, I realized I was walking with my eyes cast downward.  There are practical reasons to watch the patch of street right before you: to avoid the water that collects between the cobblestones, the leaves that can be threateningly slippery, and the usual detritus that collects on city floors.  But there’s another reason one fixedly watches the street instead of the panoramas breathing and moving around them: after losing their ‘eyes of a stranger.’

No blog about a study-abroad experience in Granada would be complete without a post about La Alhambra.

From afar, the Alhambra is sublime: seen from the famous Mirador de San Nicolás, the Alhambra is backed by the Sierra Nevada and you’re overwhelmed and filled by the sheer force of history, culture and nature alike.

In our first or second week in Granada, one of my friends from IES came to me and said “Haley, I don’t understand it.  Whenever I see my neighbor in the street I say hi and she says ‘Hasta luego!’ I don’t understand…does she not like me?”

On December 13th, Michelmas term ended and shortly thereafter everyone I know abandoned me, some to go home to see their families, others to do a bit of traveling around Europe (one of my roommates is hitting Scandinavia, France, Italy and I think Germany as well — I am incredibly jealous). I’m leaving on Monday to spend Christmas with my family in Harrogate, a pretty little spa town outside of Leeds (and also where I was born!) so I’m really not complaining. I just like to be dramatic.

I took the time to compile a list of “Things To Know” for your trip to Morocco!

1. If you are having lunch, dinner or tea with a Moroccan family, you are going to eat. What I mean by eat, is a full blown meal. During this meal you might here someone say “Kool! Kool!” No they are not interested in your eating habits, but they want you to continue eating. Kool=eat. If you are stuffed to capacity – in which you might be- Shabaat=I’m full. Never forget this.