When I was preparing to study abroad, everyone told me I’d experience culture shock upon arrival. I have no doubt that this is true. But in my first 48 hours I’ve been so overwhelmed with adjusting to conversations completely in Spanish to be concerned about any other cultural differences. My Spanish is okay. It’s actually a lot better than I thought it was before I left 2 days ago, but I’m still struggling to understand others and express myself. My new favorite phrase is “Es bueno.” The food? Es bueno. The weather? Es bueno.

One of the most intimidating things about living in Beijing (second only to mastering the language) is learning how to get around safely and efficiently. We IES-ers are lucky in that the city’s bus (公共汽车) and subway（地铁) systems are strikingly modern and simple to understand.

I’m a breakfast person. The idea of warm oatmeal with fresh berries, scrambled eggs with vegetables or even my favorite cereal with cold milk is usually enough to get me out of bed in the morning.

The Spanish enjoy a simple breakfast. In the home of my host family, that means pan, the Spanish word for bread.

Hello everyone!

The other day I was listening to Christmas tunes on the radio, when “My Favorite Things” from “The Sound of Music” came on (which is, incidentally, one of my favorite things.) It made me start thinking about all my favorite things to do and places to go in Paris. And more importantly, my favorite places to eat, because that is what France is really about. So here is my list of the best of Paris:

Well, I made it to Dublin! This is more surprising than you might think. Anxious about forgetting my passport or fumbling through security, I forgot to worry about the weather until my mom happened to check my flight status as I rounded up suitcases. It just so happened to be the day a massive winter storm hit the East Coast.

Hello again!

I’m currently sitting in my friend’s apartment in London. My journey in Europe has already began since the start of winter break. In Finland and Switzerland, I saw the Northern Lights in Saariselka, slid down the longest toboganning track in the world, snowtreked under the star-covered sky in Zermatt… I am having the time of my life, and yet it’s just the beginning.

Someone has been a busy bee recently! After returning from Harrogate I spent about a week doing some obligatory tourist stuff (going to Howth and nearly getting blown away), some celebratory stuff (NYE in Dublin!), some school stuff (term essays, why, oh why?), before finally jaunting off to England for a couple of days to scare the wits out of one of my friends who was not expecting to see me, in the least.