Today officially marks 10 days of Astha being home from Milan. Home is India for me, and I live in a small town so it was another big transition. When you are an international student, most of your journeys are alone but you meet people at the destination. That sounds a little dramatic. All I am saying is that I was bumped because a lot of my friends had the same flights flying back or while coming to Italy,  while I was flying across the opposite side of the globe. 

After a whirlwind of flights, culminating in 20 hours trying to get back to Michigan, I have officially been home for a week and couldn’t be happier. I will start off by saying that reverse culture shock back into American life is real and I’m definitely still trying to get my bearings back together. That being said, I am so happy to be home, but also sad that I had to leave my IES Abroad Berlin family. Back when I was first applying for study abroad programs, I thought being away from home for four months would be too long to the point where I considered not going.

I have always dreamed of living abroad since I was a kid. My parents had lived in Germany before I was born, and they would tell me stories and show me pictures of all the interesting experiences they had while living there. The thought of visiting another country was exciting but also scary because there are so many unknowns.

Salut, mes amis! 

My name is Jenna Hughes and I am currently studying abroad in Paris this summer (well not yet…I’m in the airport, technically).

While waiting to board my plane, I have a lot of emotions: fear, happiness, anxiety, sadness, gratitude and any other emotion you could think of! I like to call it the 'ice cream sundae' of emotions, if you will. But why are my emotions so complicated?

A key part of studying abroad is, well, studying, but picking classes can be a stressful affair. Hopefully a guide from a former student can help you out!

GR 101 -  German Language in Context: Novice Abroad I

TLDR: I don’t know how many people read these rambles of mine, but if you are a prospective student, and, especially, if you are looking to take classes at a university abroad, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m no lifestyle influencer of what-have-you, but there’s fun to be had on my stories. Find me @carolina.unterwegs.

I have never studied abroad, yet I decided for my first experience to fly across the globe to intern in Sydney, Australia. Going from point A to Z sounds drastic, especially if you have never studied abroad and are thinking of embarking on such a trip. Despite the distance and drastic change, I saw this decision as an opportunity to experience a culture vastly different from my home peninsula of Florida, expand my knowledge outside of the classroom, and gain insights from Australian professionals that may contrast American work life.

Here's Part 2. of all the places near Milan I visited in a day as promised!