Going to Morocco was incredible, indescribable, a wholly new and foreign experience that I haven’t had enough time to really reflect upon.  There are a million different directions I could take a blog post about the trip– there’s the hospitality and warmth of the host family I stayed with in Rabat, the awesome and fear-inspiring grandeur of the Mausoleum of King Mohammed V, the beauty of Asilah, labyrinthine and misty by the sea, the auspicious coincidence of turning twenty-one on a rooftop terrace in Chefchaouen, beneath the stars and the dark

After a short one hour flight down to Rome Charlotte, Gina, Sheron, and I were ready to find our humble abode for the weekend and start exploring Rome.  We had an awesome apartment for the weekend that also turned out to have a view of the Colosseum.  How could I ask for anything more than good friends, exploring a new city, and a view from our inexpensive place for the weekend.

There’s no doubt that living in a different country is going to be a completely different experience from living in your home country. Here are some of the more interesting specific characteristics that I’ve noticed about living in China.

A two day trek through the Andean paramo (high altitude mountains). We battled cold wins and oxygen-thin air at high altitudes of 14,000-16,000 feet, but the rewards were well worth it. We were lucky to have mostly clear and sunny weather the first day, an unusual occurence for this part of the Ecuadorean climate. Around every switchback there seemed to be another lake, and our campsite at Laguna Parcacocha was one of the most breathtaking I’ve ever had the opportunity to sleep at.

Being the capital of China, Beijing has so many awesome things to do and see. First things first is that you have to figure out how to get to these places!

Subway

Quickly after arriving in China, you’ll realize many people you encounter have preconceived notions or stereotypes about Americans. One of these lesser-known (and uglier) tropes is that of the short-tempered, screaming lao wai, immortalized in countless videos of foreigners having break-downs on youku.

The French are direct. They’re honest and they definitely know what “tough love” is, e.g. my 11-year-old host sister “comforting” her younger sister saying:

“Everything will be ok. It’s normal to play the flute badly at your age.”

Last Tuesday, a group of us decided to go out and see the Oxford Street Christmas lighting, even though it still feels much too early to start celebrating Christmas. We started off just wandering and then saw a large group of people all huddled together and decided to go see what was going on. Before we knew it, we had been engulfed in this crowd and there was no way out- we didn’t even know what we were supposed to be waiting for or watching.

Since my program only last until December and I literally don’t have long holidays for a trip to Tokyo, I chose the time of University Fair (大学祭) of Nanzan, which gave me about 5 days to spend in Tokyo. (I don’t advice everyone to do that since there are also lot’s of fun in the fair.

And finally here they come…lot’s of pictures I took in my enjoyable journey to Tokyo.

If you have a one year program, make full-use of winter vacation. If you’re like me, maybe you will do the same:)