To those of you who know me personally, welcome to my blog. To those of you who do not, I assume you clicked here by mistake, but since you’re here, let’s make the best of it. This is the first installment in a series of ten that will detail my experience living abroad in Berlin as a student. This first post will attempt to capture the impending doom of international travel in an amusing fashion.

Hello and welcome to my final blog post. Thank you for following along, I hope that happy holidays were had by all. I’m writing this post-program reflection from my new dorm room at Fordham Lincoln Center, my home institution. Life after my IES Abroad program has been a whirlwind; I tacked an extra week onto my stay in Rome to take a trip to Napoli (which was incredible and really captured how all of Italy’s cities have such different vibes). Then, once I returned home to PA, we took a trip to visit family in the Midwest.

After months of anticipation, planning, packing (okay, mostly overpacking), and two rebooked flights, I finally landed in Barcelona! From the moment my feet touched Catalan soil, it’s been a whirlwind of navigating, adjusting, and embracing a new culture. Here’s how my first few days unfolded, complete with hiccups, heartwarming moments, and some solid lessons learned.