Las Islas Galapagos. There hasn’t been a day since my return to the USA last December that I haven’t thought about those amazing islands in one way or another. It seemed like even on the days when I wasn’t talking about my trip, or looking at pictures, it somehow came up – either in classes at school or even in the news.

Everyone says that the hardest part about studying abroad is the return home. “Reverse culture shock” is a phenomenon commonly cited to explain our feelings of angst and restlessness while re-adjusting to an old lifestyle which seems comparatively outdated and monotonous.

After three months of roaming around the streets of Paris, here is what I have come by and labeled as the best of Paris. From the amazing views from Montmartre to tucked away cafe’s in the Marias, I have completely fallen in love with what this city has to offer.

As an ingenious method of procrastination during finals, I decided to compile a list of the top ten things I’ve learned this semester. These aren’t the academic topics I’ve studied (and therefore had nothing to do with finals). Rather, they are some of the cultural truths I’ve encountered while studying in Morocco. True to form, don’t expect too much deep philosophizing.

Top Ten Things I’ve Learned

Words can’t begin to describe how thankful I am to have experienced my semester abroad, from the places I never imagined I would have the opportunity to see and all of the amazing people I met and got to know in Milan and at IES. I can honestly say that I couldn’t have been any happier with my abroad program and everyone in it, it’s unreal to think that I’ve only spent three months with everyone and it’s over already. I’ve definitely made new friends that I won’t forget and can only hope to see again at some point, and have IES to thank for that.

The last of my travels, to Budapest, Amsterdam, and Prague, were all such unique experiences and I wish I could elaborate more on all of them, but time caught up with me at the end of the semester. These three cities were all together the best trips so far, with Amsterdam at the top of the list. Of course I had my expectations of the city, between the Red Light District, Coffee Shops, and liberal attitude, but it was more exciting than I imagined. We went on a canal tour of the city – cheap and definitely worth it, I saw and learned so much of Amsterdam than I would have otherwise.

And so it ends.
This post is an attempt to have logical thoughts, but, let’s be honest, they’re quite scattered.

This past week was our finals (something no college student enjoys) and we’ve all made it our relatively unscathed. We had papers and projects and exams and stress and complaints. But we also had fun trying to pull one another through and breathing a sigh of relief every time we handed in one more test, usually followed by a look of shock because we generally had no idea how we did on the tests.

Here’s a tad more British vocab.

Trousers – pants, jeans, you know.

Pants – sometimes refers to what Americans think of as pants, but quite often refers to one’s undies, skivvies, panties

Jab – shot

Theatre – operating room

Lollies – suckers

Full Stop – the dot at the end of the sentence

Boot – trunk of a car

Bonnet – hood of a car

Motorway – freeway/expressway

Pram or Buggy – different types of strollers

Starters – appetizers

Mobile – or MO-bi-el, a cell phone

Flat – apartment

Jam – jelly