I’m forcing myself to write this post, enticing myself with the promise of a few episodes of 30 Rock on Netflix if I finish. I never have a problem reliving a vacation through my writing. I am usually happy to peruse my mental catalog of the dishes I ate and the views I meticulously photographed. But this trip ended with… Read more →
And so it ended where it started…at my kitchen table. I wrote the very first Pre-Departure blog post at my kitchen table, and now 6 months later I’m hovered over it again attempting to put into words everything that I’ve gone through in this time. Surely, I would have had a life changing experience regardless, but my father passing away… Read more →
Before I came to Spain, whenever I told people I was studying abroad in Madrid, they’d say, Oh, you’ll love Barcelona. This was mildly annoying, because I wanted people to tell me that about Madrid, but the fact is that less people visit Madrid since it’s isolated in the middle of the country and is located in what is effectively… Read more →
Since I knew I was going abroad, I knew I wanted to visit Edinburgh. It’s where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter, and I’d just heard so many good things, namely that it was like a more quaint, less crowded London. I know some people may scoff at that comparison, but that was what I had heard. One of my friends… Read more →
Just as our study abroad program started off with a group trip to Granada in Southern Spain, it ended with a group trip to Galicia in Northwest Spain. Our university always does this trip at the end, because our program director Ramiro is from Galicia. It was the trip I’d been looking forward to the most, for several reasons. First,… Read more →
My number one most listened to song of all time is “Can’t Take It In” by Imogen Heap. It’s track #14 on the Chronicles of Narnia soundtrack. I know this because when I was in Ireland nine years ago, I brought the CD and it became the soundtrack to our trip. To this day, it makes my heart beat a… Read more →
Pretty much since I knew what a bucket list was, traveling somewhere completely alone has been on it. Cheryl Strayed did it in Wild and even before that Elizabeth Gilbert did it in Eat Pray Love. I’m continuously fascinated by strong single women who don’t just travel but seem to journey, for a trip alone is not a vacation it… Read more →
It’s been a while I know. If you must know what I’ve been doing since I haven’t been writing. I got a cold and spent two days in bed, then thinking I was better went to Lisbon, only to get the stomach flu the following week and spend the next three days in bed. The last thing I wanted to… Read more →
I know the hipsters are going to disagree with me about this, but I’ll say it anyways. I think if possible everyone should take a guided tour when visiting a new city, because it connects what you’re seeing with history, literature, and culture. Instead of seeing just a castle, you see the years it took to gather the materials and… Read more →
I’ve never been diagnosed with SADD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) or anything, but I recognize that at times my mood can almost be dictated by the weather. So if you’re like me, rain is not something that you want when you’re on your spring break. Well, it was raining when we arrived in Vienna, and it was raining when we left.… Read more →