Gilbert Keith Chesterton’s telling quote comes to life in Spain’s little city of Avila. Every corner of the city seems to call out to God through its many churches, devotion to St. Theresa of Avila, and religious processions.
This Friday IES Comparative Religions course headed a few hours northeast of Salamanca for an archaeological field study. We started the day early, with the bus departing at 7 am from the IES center. The first part of the trip was my favorite, a visit to the archeological park at Atapuerca.
I really enjoyed my trip to Southern Italy this weekend. It focused mostly on Rome, but also included a day trip down to Naples and Pompeii. However, a common thread that united the four-day weekend was the phenomenon of “You Can’t Get There From Here.”
This weekend I went to Abel Tasman National Park with a group of friends. One of the things I love about being here is that I don’t only meet Kiwis, but people from all around the world. In the group that went, we had 4 people from the USA, 1 person from Germany, and 3 people from China. Luckily, two of the people had cars, so we didn’t have to take a bus. Unfortunately, through IES, we are not allowed to drive. It’s a really inconvenient rule, but since we can’t drive, making friends with cars makes it easier to get around.
A few weeks ago I went to Bursa, a city in the Northern part of Turkey and last week I went to Cappadocia, near Ankara. Both cities were amazing! In Bursa we went to a town called Uludag where it snows! I felt like I was back home instantly. We went skiing on the mountains of Uludag and then we went to eat Bursa’s famous dish, Iskender (my favorite food in Turkey!) It was an awesome experience.
Then….
They started to show up around March 12. Bedecked in glittery green mini top hats, flagging down taxis only to be snared in traffic, politely asking a Trinity security guard if there were perhaps any pubs nearby.
The Paddy’s Day tourists had arrived, and well before the day itself, I realized I had adopted the persona of a crotchety old-timer hollering at the kids to get off my lawn, maneuvering through packed sidewalks with a scowl and a sneer. Tourists, I scoffed to myself, with all the hauteur of a three-month resident.
After checking out inexpensive flight offers to Basel, Switzerland, I gathered up the courage to ask a few other students from my program to join me. This was my first time traveling with friends who were not from my home college, and that experience was a wonderful adventure itself. We were situated in an Airbnb in the Black Forest near the German-Swiss border, which provided us not only generous breakfasts every morning but also the opportunity to have a well-rounded trip.
Aarau
In a few more hours, I will be off to the airport and on my way to Japan. It will be my first time flying since elementary school, and it will be my first time going alone. Although this trip has been long-awaited, these past few months have left me feeling bittersweet about my departure. In this past month alone, I have seen grief-stricken relatives cry over a lost loved one, yet I have also experienced the joy and excitement associated with the promise of a new life.