Note: This post is from a week ago, due to problems finding internet. I am actually home from Ecuador now! But please enjoy this blog anyway.
Today I went SCUBA diving at Leon Dormido, an eroded tuff cone sticking out of the ocean about a mile offshore. Based on my previous dive here a couple weeks ago, I compiled a list of goals:
Don’t get me wrong. I REALLY don’t want to leave Paris. (I’ve already had between nine and thirteen heart attacks today worrying that I’m not using my time left here to the fullest.) I’ve started to feel like this is my city (“excuse me stranger on the street, what do you think you’re doing leaving a cigarette butt on MY Rue de Rivoli??”) but it doesn’t mean that I’ve forgotten where I came from. Here are just a few of the things I pine for…
Nearly every time we eat potatos for dinner in my family my mother reminds us that “it’s thanks to potatos that you’re all here!” She is, of course, referring to the Irish potato famine that drove our ancestors to the United States (so actually, it’s thanks to a LACK of potatoes that I’m here) and ended up producing me, the ever-irish Clancy Boyd.
In exactly 14 hours, I will be boarding a plane to go back home. I feel like I am in a state of shock right now. Only 14 hours until all of this is over. I hope that I will wake up tomorrow to realize that this was a dream and I still have months and months left here in Paris. How can I leave tomorrow when it seems as though I just got here? It doesn’t feel like I’m going home tomorrow, it feels like I am leaving home.
For our 1 week long “Spring Break” vacation, some friends and I spent the first half in the beautiful city of Mendoza. While known for its wine making and olive oil production, Mendoza is also right at the base of the Andes mountains, and so a popular place for hikers and trekkers to visit. During our stay, we did a little bit of everything that Mendoza had to offer. The first day we walked around the city and throughout el Parque St. Martin–a huge park with a gorgeous lake, walking trails, restaurants, and other features.
Over the semester there were various occasions where we could sign up to go to a rugby match. I was lucky enough to go for a championship game. It was really interesting to see this type of sporting event, and especially fun to see all the fans dressed up supporting their team.