Being a senior and choosing to study abroad is a little more challenging as I have less time to prepare myself after coming back from studying in Italy before I join the real world and must look for a big girl job.  I had my heart set on going to study in Italy and have an internship to help build my resume upon returning home to the states.  I thought having an internship abroad would help strengthen my skills as I would be doing graphic design work and getting to see how Italian companies are run verses companies in the United States.

I am completely in love with the city of Freiburg. The longer I live here, the more I realize it is going to be incredibly difficult to leave.

This weekend I went on an IES sponsored trip to Stonehenge, Salisbury, and Bath. I really enjoyed Stonehenge; I am a sucker for old, mysterious things. It looked so different from each angle and I liked that the history and significance was explained to us on the bus before we got there. Salisbury cathedral was gorgeous, and Bath was like stepping into the 18th century.

I had the craziest taxi experience the other day.

A friend and I took a taxi back from the IES center because we needed to get back quickly. So, we hailed a Petit Taxi like we did every day in Fez and got in. Completely normal.

Berlin was one of the most fascinating places I have ever been to, however Prague is probably on of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. It was definitely less affected by the destruction of WWII. Like Berlin, we arrived and were taken on a city tour. To be honest, I was so intrigued by the architecture that I forgot to listen to our guide at points. My favorite thing was the Old Hall Clock, which is the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working.

I am finally getting into the swing of classes following our intensive phase and first field study trip, and have not had the chance nor the time to sit down and post about Berlin and Prague. So about a week and a half late, here it is. I am doing two individual posts for each trip since they were both very different and I have so much to say.

I cheated. I was in the Brazil in May with UMass, we were in the Amazon, going up and down the two main rivers, the Rio Negro and Rio Solomões. It was one of the best experiences I have ever had, I didn’t want to leave at the end of the two weeks, and I was so excited to come back for my entire fall semester.

“Katie, est-ce qu’il y a quelque chose que tu n’aimes pas? (Katie, is there anything you don’t like?),” my 8-year-old host sister asked as I sat down at the breakfast table and poured my coffee.

“Hmmm. Est-ce que tu veux dire quelque chose dans la vie où quelque chose dans le contexte de la nourriture?” (Do you mean in life or in the context of food?), I responded as I watched her pour chocolate powder into her yogurt cup.

“La nourriture! (Food!), she said while gobbling down a mouthful of the yogurt/chocolate powder concoction.