On September 29th, I went to Tokyo Disneyland for the first time! When I came to Japan in 2017, I somehow did not remember that Japan had two different Disney parks, so I never went to them. I am so happy to have gone because I am a huge Disney buff and went to Disney World back in December. My love for the parks was rekindled, though I do not miss the long lines and standing around until my feet hurt.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, in an English speaking country where I’ve heard more Italian than any other time in my entire life, is a city by the name of Dublin. Smack in the middle of it is Beckett House, where, if you decide to come to Ireland through this program, will be staying at. 30 minutes from there, is a lovely little—and when I say little, I mean tiny—center. That’s where you will be taking classes. 

            Hello again! On this occasion, I’ll be writing about the Beckett House, which is the student accommodation I’m living in here in Dublin through IES Abroad.

On the first weekend of our German intensive period, some of my friends and I decided to travel to Bratislava. Since it is so close to Vienna, it makes for a great day trip, and a great first trip outside the city! Our morning started out with a ride to the train station (after a delicious homemade breakfast burrito), which was a pretty easy ride—just one streetcar all the way to the train station. We bought our train tickets online ahead of time, but had to wait to print them out at the train station. We found the ticket printer pretty easily.

So, first and foremost, it’s been almost 2 months since I last wrote—whoops. Somehow, between the tintos and tapas, the weeks slipped by and its now nearly November. Now that I’ve found my rhythm here, though, I figure its high time to update my status. 

Vienna is a paradise for music lovers like me. In fact, the wealth of opportunities to see live music in Vienna may have even increased my appreciation for music (which, I wasn’t even sure was possible until it happened!). It has definitely ignited my love for opera. I love all of the different performances that I have been able to see so far, and I can’t wait for all the other ones that I have yet to see! At most venues, you can read subtitles or supertitles in English, making musical theater very accessible to non-native German speakers, too.

I love the bus. I love sitting at a window seat and listening to music while the city passes by. I love people watching. I love the familiarity of knowing the city by bus stops and imagining my location in relation to my proximity to la linea 101 and its path to my corner. 

What did you do today? I get asked this a lot—by friends at dinner, by family over the phone late at night. I like this question because, unlike its cousin “How was your day,” “What did you do today?” is a question that really wants an answer. I know this because when I say “nothing” in return, people get upset. My friends are annoyed because they already spilled their story and now it’s my turn; my parents are disappointed because they miss me too much for “nothing” to be the answer they get.

The doors didn’t open. The train started moving again. My roommates and I looked at each other in horror. Oh, no, we thought. That was our stop!