The worst thing you can do as a student abroad is stay in your room on the weekends on your laptop. I mean, if you’re working, that’s one thing. But a semester is too short to not take advantage of every weekend you have (and with four weekends left for me, that’s really starting to sink in). On your time off, there’s no reason (not even money) that you shouldn’t go out and soak everything your city has to offer. Even in an expensive city like London, I found some cheap, simple, and highly enjoyable activities for any weekend.

It’s crazy to think that in less than one month, my life in Paris will come to an end! So I made the most of my long weekend by checking some things off the Paris bucket list!

I’ve wanted to write an entry about food all semester, but I knew doing so would mean admitting my slightly sheepish relationship with food. I have no taste at all for fine dining and could never be described as a “foodie.” Instead I have the pallet of the average 10 year old boy; the over-excited reactions of pre-teen boys on commercials where their mom makes bagel bites matches my reaction when I see bagel bites in the frozen food isle of the grocery store.

In Straßburg, our main focus was the European Parliament. However we got some free time to explore the city. The city is located in France, however is located close to the border with Germany, and is historically German-speaking. The city is known for its sandstone Gothic Cathedral with its famous astronomical clock, and for its medieval cityscape of Rhineland black and white timber-framed buildings. Following our time in the city we headed over to the Parliament building where we had a lecture, and then visited the hemicycle where the members sit.

Last weekend, I took day trips out and around London, to satisfy my curiosity and sense of adventure. On Friday, one other student and I took a bus out to Oxford. We really didn’t have any plans; we just wanted to walk around the university. Maybe I am a naïve American, but I had this very romantic notion of Oxford in my mind: one large main campus, a Hogwarts style main building, and maybe even some rolling hills and greenery. I was very mistaken.

This past week I traveled to Spain and France during my fall break. Because of Morocco’s close proximity to Europe, I was able to find affordable flights and hotels. Yet, after spending a week in a culture similar to one in America I experience reversed culture shock. Yes, I diagnosed myself.