When I was sixteen my grandparents surprised me with a trip to Italy. A way to embrace my heritage and explore a new country at the same time. This trip was so eye opening and it was another reason that I solidified my goal to study abroad. However, my travel plans changed forever as my return flight connected in Zurich. For an incredible ten minutes I stared out my window to see the Swiss Alps, these snow covered peaks were gorgeous and took my breath away even though I was looking out of a plane window.

According to the “Sun Feb 18th” icon precariously situated in the upper left-hand corner of my laptop screen, I will be hurtling towards the airport in exactly six days, nine hours, and twenty-three minutes*. That’s imprecisely one week for those as concerned with the specifics as I am (that is to say, minutely so).  

Berlin is one city that has certainly mastered the art of keeping warm while staying stylish. Steal the look with these 5 items.

1. Doc Martens

My few weeks in Siena were incredible! The very first night, we had a welcome dinner at a local restaurant and got to know our incredible Italian student companions and staff. In a bit of a tired and jet-lagged haze, we all ate together to begin our semester, and things have been off to a great start since. 

When I chose Rome as my study abroad destination, I was initially skeptical about opportunities to practice my Italian. I’ve heard from other American students who’ve studied abroad in Italy that it can be difficult when you’re starting out to practice speaking with locals: oftentimes they simply respond back in English when it becomes clear your Italian isn’t fluent.

Being frugal in a new country is HARD. Especially not having a job. I’ve had a job consistently since I was 14, and not having one now makes it hard to adjust to not having a stream of income coming in. Because of this, I have had to reassess how I view money and how I spend it. Here are some of the tips I’ve picked up!

1. Remind yourself you’re not on vacation

A few weekends ago my partner's 21st birthday arrived and we decided we wanted to go on a day trip!

Day 1: We took the bus to Canterbury since our trip was relatively last minute and rail tickets were a bit too expensive. The good news is that the round trip tickets were about 17 pounds per person and only 2 hours! When we got there, we checked into the hotel almost immediately. We stayed at the Premier Inn, which was very reasonably priced and a walking distance from downtown Canterbury.