About two weeks ago, I was lucky enough to travel to Florence and Pisa with some of my friends from the program. Being able to see other parts of Italy, as well as other countries for such an inexpensive price, is definitely a pro of studying abroad. While we did have to buy ourselves food, which of course was a little pricey, the overall trip barely cost me over 70 euro. As an art history major, Florence was at the top of my list for weekend trips in Italy.
It’s been a busy, but fun few days here in Galápagos. We’re doing lots of snorkeling and we just began our third module course, which is very exciting! The elections were this past Sunday, so there was a lot of campaigning going on. Looking forward to diving again this week at Kicker Rock!
A month has passed and I can’t describe how its been in words! This has definitely been a life changing trip and I am sure it will continue to be. I am currently at my home university, Sabanci Universitesi and I love it. The people are amazing and very welcoming. I am currently taking five courses: Anthropology of the Body, Basic Turkish, Turkish Culture, Renaissance Art and Human Rights in Global Affairs. The classes are really amazing and very interesting.
There are many things that I like about Istanbul but I will name the top 5 so far.
A few weeks ago (note: I used the word “weeks”) I got a friendly little reminder from IES about a Valentine’s Day blog. I chuckled and moved on with my life..and then my second reminder came a week later asking me to talk about what I love about Siena or how I’d be spending the holiday. I took the two emails as a hint that they were really jazzed about Valentine’s Day.
There are many reasons that I chose to study abroad in Ecuador. Food is not one of them. Potatoes are far from my favorite (I don’t even really like potato chips or french fries) as as a former vegetarian, I prefer to only eat small quantities of meat once or twice a week.
As part of our project of getting to know Spain better, my housemate and I decided to head to Mérida this weekend, in the province of Badajoz in Extremadura. This was the best weekend trip I’ve ever taken!
I know I searched the internet tirelessly for little cultural differences before arriving in France, but there are a few things that I’ve picked up on here that you should know if you’re thinking of visiting France.
The Sidewalks of Paris
Left to Right: Natalie, Sarah, Brittany, Taylor
Behind is a close up view of the Oriental Pearl Tower and surrounding colorfully lit buildings from a boat on the Huangpu River.
My ankles are sore and I have blisters on my feet; sun kissed cheeks and a camera full of new pictures. It has been a long day with lots of waiting and stress, but also a wonderful day during which I finally arrived in Sydney and had time to explore. It all began with a six hour flight from Charlotte to San Francisco, then one hour layover, and fourteen hours to Sydney. My luggages were overweight, I was the last person on and off the planes, and the large jumbo jet did not have personal tvs.