For the first half of mid-semester break, many students in the IES group traveled across South Africa to the western side of the country, where we visited Kruger National Park. The park is a game reserve the size of Israel, and contains all of the continent’s ‘Big Five.’ The Big Five was a term coined by big time African game hunters who selected the following animals as the most difficult to hunt on foot; lions, elephants, rhinos, buffalos, and leopards.

I remember being annoyed as a kid when adults would say “god bless you.” It was fine if I sneezed. But even when I let out the smallest little cough, they would turn to me and say “gublessyou” just the same. Inevitably, I would then mumble “Thank you,” meaning “I’m not dying! Don’t bless me!” I got used to it some time in high school, when I realized that the quick succession of “coughsneeze-gublessyou-thankyou” made me a polite and respectful young lady. But I never liked it very much.

It’s the morning of my plane ride to the Galápagos. My alarm is set for 4:30am so I can be at school by 5:15. I’m tossing and turning all night with excitement – or is it nausea? I wake up at 3am spewing vomit all over my bed. Ok, that was nausea.

I’m not only a resident of Berlin, but an excited audience member. In the few short weeks I’ve lived here, I’ve listened to musicians beatbox into flutes and serenade subway cars with their accordions, watched a spectacle of strobe lights ignite a block filled with galleries during Berlin Art Week, and couldn’t look away from a roller skating duet performing an elaborate dance in Mauer Park. Out of all the performances I’ve seen, my favorites have been the plays. I’ve always loved seeing live theater; both my parents worked at St.

Cinque Terre was the destination of travel this weekend as a large group of us girls (Hayley, Jackie, Caitlin, Sara, Julia, Rachel, and myself) headed off to the coast for a weekend in the sun.  Cinque Terre has become more popular due to the small towns lining the coast filled with beautiful colored houses, the small town feel, local restaurants, and swimming holes in each town. We stayed in Riomaggiore which was the closest to the train station and allowed us to travel the entire coast visiting each town.

So, this past weekend, my friends and I went on a rather interesting trip. It all started rather innocently- we thought we were going to plan a trip to Wales. It was close, they spoke English, and we wanted an easy first trip, to figure out traveling and become more comfortable with it. And then someone went on Sky Scanner and found plane tickets to Bergen, Norway for about 55 pounds. And within the hour, we had all booked tickets: six girls, nowhere to stay, and plane tickets to Norway. What.

I have the best host family. I don’t think it was coincidence that I got placed with the family that I have. While the party scene in Quito is plenty for anyone looking for exciting nightlife, I’m not huge into the farras, or fiestas. I’m kind of like an old woman that way. Thankfully, my host dad Francisco, is the hippest, funniest, and most adventurous host dad I could have asked for. He is 60 years old, but more active than most of my peers at home.