When I made the decision to come to France, everyone kept telling me that it would be such a great opportunity to travel throughout the rest of Europe.

Gogol’s short story “Nevsky Prospect” warns readers of the city’s pull and power, several other works we read described St. Petersburg as intense and even violent, and Anastasia, which some friends and I watched the night before our flight paints the city as a snow-blanketed dreamland. I had no mental image of the city or what my experiences there would be, but I can say now that St. Petersburg is the most remarkable place I’ve ever been.

Last week was the stress-filled midterm’s week. I had two tests and two essays due. I have more essays due in successive weeks. I spent most of my time in my room writing and studying as opposed to exploring last weekend.

The intensity of midterms has inspired me to write about what I miss from America. America is all about comfort and ease, and while I love Europe, freaking out about finals made me realize that I miss certain comforts and regularities, as listed below:

Only when studying abroad can you take a field trip to Switzerland for your economics class! On Friday we hopped on the TGV with our econ professor for a mandatory class outing to Geneva. For the entire weekend I had the Genovian national anthem stuck in my head (if you don’t get it, it’s a Princess Diaries reference!). Geneva, Genovia, close enough!

Wine and Macaroons All Darn Day

Last month, we embarked on an overnight hike between two small towns: Lloa, located at the mouth of active Pichincha volcano, to Mindo, a popular destination for Quiteno tourists located in tropical cloud forest and have about 40 kilometers and 1500m above sea level between them.

I don’t want to talk about money because that means I need to calculate how much I spent each month and that means I would feel bad about myself…. but! I think it’s necessary to talk about this for both you and me. To give you the general idea, I’ll just write down what I bought everyday. (sacrificing my privacy for you guys!) Btw, I am with a host family, which means I don’t need to worry about buying foods (except that I had snacks almost everyday.)

Here goes the September spending:

Since week one, I’ve been keeping a list of things I want to do in Santiago. The rate of adding items exceeds the rate of checking them off, and so the list keeps growing. I check one item off, and three grow in its place. Basically, my bucket list is a bit like the hydra in Hercules, only more agreable. An extended example: