All work, all fun, what is a day really like while studying abroad?

Even though every week in Salamanca is a blast, we were all really looking forward to Spring Break. I was originally anticipating my parents being able to visit for longer, so I was severely behind on my Spring Break plans. Nonetheless, for the first half of the break, my roommate and I were able to book (only slightly last minute) our trip to Rome. We ended up leaving Thursday night on a horrific experience with Wizz Airlines. Our flight was delayed 2.5 hours and then we had to wait 1 hour on the tarmac after landing, making it to our hostel at 3 AM. 

BlaBlaCar is… to use a phrase that we picked up during orientation and couldn’t stop saying… súper guay. That’s to say it’s super cool. The first time I used the app, to travel the 90 minute drive between Málaga and Granada, I paid only nine euros. But not only that, it was an opportunity to practice my Spanish and get to know a masters student studying physics at the UGR. As fate would have it, our flights lined up so that he also gave me a ride back home to Granada at the end of the weekend.

Throughout my study abroad experience, I’ve taken a lot of weekend trips to other cities and/or countries. Keep reading if you want to hear about my tips and tricks for booking trips and packing for them! 

Exploring Europe is a huge part of studying abroad that may look different for different people. I know some people who have only traveled a couple times, while I know others who have traveled every single weekend. It’s really up to you, there is no right or wrong way to study abroad! 

Before going abroad, I didn’t do well with uncertainty. I wasn’t exactly inflexible, but I liked having a plan, a timeline, and a reliable sense of what is coming. Many times when I was faced with an unexpected change, whether it be a delayed flight or a college rejection letter, it was accompanied by a large amount of anxiety. However, in coming to Berlin, I realized that my mentality toward uncertainty had to change.

A few Mondays ago, I was taking the train back to Social Hub West with my friend after our lecture. The lecture ended just before 5pm, so the sky was still brightly lit, illuminating the spring green on the trees. We hadn’t talked in a while so we caught up about our trips, his to France and mine to Belgium, discussed the content of the lecture, occasionally lapsed into silence to watch the pretty city go by, then resuming conversation.

And so we’ve arrived. The final week in Nantes. I really can’t believe it. Everyone told me how fast time would fly by, but I really didn’t believe them. But these past four months have honestly felt like one. In this final week, I’ve been trying to just take everything in and appreciate this amazing city. Luckily, there have been a lot of different events this week that have helped with that.

Last month, I finally visited Berlin. This is something I had been planning on doing for a while, if you’re in Germany for a year, you should visit Berlin at least once. But, once I arrived in Freiburg, I realized just how far Berlin is from Freiburg, and just how expensive it can be thanks to hotel and transportation fees. By (direct, ICE) train, Berlin is about 5 hours away from Freiburg. This is pretty good considering Berlin is on the complete opposite side of Germany from Freiburg.