Let me start off by saying that describing this experience and giving the Amazon Rainforest the recognition it deserves is impossible. I can only attempt to describe it, but words don’t showcase its beauty and importance.

Ich spreche kein Deutch… or, to give myself a bit more credit, I speak very, very little German. Unlike many of my peers here in Berlin, I have never taken a German class before and I have never been in a space where German is the primary language spoken. That reality made me pretty nervous before coming to Berlin, but it also motivated me to learn some German independently and really lean into immersing myself now that I am abroad.

Sometimes it feels like I’ve been here for a whole year. Other times it feels like it’s somehow still my first day. What helps bring me back to reality (that I have been here for just a couple weeks) is getting out of the city. Equating coming “home” with coming back to Granada helps unite the two in my mind. Soon enough, perhaps Granada will actually mean home in my brain. That is a cool thought. I wonder if that’s part of the logic behind IES Abroad's excursions, or if they just want to show us cool places around Spain.

Hallo from Amsterdam! A month has passed since our arrival in the Nederlands, and I have some reflections for you--if it’s in quotations, it’s directly from my journal. 

“Yes, it feels exactly like freshman year. But in AMSTERDAM!”

I'll admit it: the primary reason I came to Aotearoa was to immerse myself in the bush and mountains this wonderful landscape has to offer. You look up 'New Zealand' on Pinterest and see cascades of ranges, endless green foothills, lush fjords and the like. Auckland, as the country's most urban region, may feature miles of coastline, sure; however, when stuck between the city's skyscrapers and the cycle of lectures, seminars, and studying, it's easy to lose your footing.