I recently read an essay by a friend, who is nearing the end of her year as a Fulbright English teaching assistant in the Balkans. In it, she articulates, in vivid, lyrical prose, the bittersweetness of leaving the home she’s created for herself in a year to the one she occupied the first two decades of her life. At risk of spoiling her writing, I will summarize it with the following metaphor: departure, the essay points out, is more akin to the chalk-like baker’s chocolate we melt on a skillet for rich, flourless cake.

So, it's been a little over a month since I first started my adventure here in Germany. Time is certainly flying. And you know what else is? My food budget. 

When you first immerse yourself in a new culture, it is without question that you must experience the culinary differences that it has to offer. Germany is no exception. Just navigating the grocery store was difficult to adjust to, because of the different ingredients and their prevalences in German cuisine.

As part of my study abroad program, I traveled to Tiputini Biodiversity Station, a research facility located deep within the Ecuadorian Amazon. It is hard to put into words how incredible Tiputini is (but I shall attempt to anyway). It is fully immersed in the wilderness, seemingly beyond the reach of humanity. It’s a magical place, like something out of a dream.

When I decided to study abroad in Japan, I dreamed of visiting shrines, riding the train, eating at different restaurants, and shopping for Japanese goods. Going to an arcade wasn’t something I’d thought about. But one day after school, some of my classmates decided to go to an arcade in Shinjuku. I thought it would be interesting to see what Japanese arcades were like. I wasn’t expecting to have as much fun as I did, or to find myself at arcades many, many times again after that day. 

One thing that I feel goes unnoticed about studying abroad and traveling is the realization that the wonders of this world are far greater than the worries of our minds. As a pre-med student, I spend much of my days worried about what’s to come, losing sight of what is right in front of me. While the Santiago Health program has given me material to study it has also provided me with space to choose exploration. Instead of remaining indoors studying this past weekend, my professor encouraged us to travel.

During my first week abroad in Sydney, we were taken on a day trip to the Blue Mountains, with a stop at Featherdale Wildlife Park to meet and interact with some of Australia’s most exotic (and adorable!) wildlife. From a kangaroo trying to munch on my hair to a beautiful hike that makes the hardest level on the Stairmaster seem peaceful, this day was nothing more than memorable and a great bonding experience for my cohort.