It goes without saying that living abroad brings about a whole host of changes to your everyday life. It also goes without saying that for some people, that change can be a bit overwhelming. I’m definitely one of those people, and going into my summer abroad I knew I wanted to try and stick to some semblance of normalcy from my life in the States to try and ease this transition. So, here are a few things I did to stay true to myself, my identities, and my lifestyle while also fully immersing myself in the Spanish way of living. 

On our last full weekend in Barcelona, my friends and I decided to do a day trip to Costa Brava. We initially had hoped to get on a bus to Tossa de Mar, but when we checked Omio for tickets the night before, we discovered they were sold out (this brings me to my first tip for anyone planning this trip: buy your tickets in advance). Not ready to give up just yet, I convinced my friends to still meet at the bus station the next morning to see what we could figure out.

While I loved studying in Siena and experiencing the culture of the Contrade, some of the most fun I had was while I was exploring. Siena is a beautiful place to walk around—it’s pretty small and very safe, and has so many great shops, restaurants, and views, but there was no way I was going to Italy without exploring as much of the country as I could in the few weeks I had. Since we have three-day weekends, it was easy to take day and weekend trips with my friends! Here are my three favorite day/weekend trips!

As promised, here is the Galapagos “day in the life” post, where I chronicle a typical day studying abroad on Isla San Cristóbal. Hopefully, this gives you a clearer idea of what to expect if you choose to study here. 

An important note: some of the information in this post is specific to the Quito Summer - Environmental Studies program. Full-semester and direct-enrollment programs will look a little different than this.

As I sit here at my gate in JFK, I’m surprised by the stillness of my body and mind. The craziness of this past week — making to-do lists, shopping lists, packing, saying goodbye to my friends and family, weighing my suitcases and then re-packing — had all led up to this: a few hours of waiting, silently and alone, before I board my flight.

The IES Abroad program in Freiburg offers the particularly unique experience of applying for, interviewing, and completing an internship in German. In German—yes. And for anyone who already has “professional working proficiency” listed on your LinkedIn profile, these five weeks will, without a doubt, make the estimation of your fluency true.