Hasta Luego Granada
Returning from Nicaragua was much more difficult than I had anticipated. I had just began to get used to the heat, the food and using Spanish more than English. Above all, I felt like I had not spent enough time in the clinic. It almost seemed unfair to go down to Nicaragua, recognize the necessities that the country has, help for a few weeks and then disappear. I know that there is so much more that I could have done to help if I...
Reflections in Spain
6/14/17: This trip to Spain has truly been one for the books. As the trip comes to a close, I reflect on how this trip has changed me. For starters, my Spanish speaking skills have improved tremendously. Our facilitators implicated a “Spanish only policy” on us at the beginning of the trip. While almost all of us loathed this new rule, I came to realize that it was exactly what we needed to improve our speaking and comprehension of...
Gaining A Bit of Perspective
Nothing compares to field experience. You can spend months in a classroom studying something but until you see it out in the real world your perception of it is never quite true. You need to see it in relationship to the other things in its environment and then you can form new questions based on those interactions. For example, this is a Xestospongia muta sponge. It is one of many sponges that I am responsible for identifying while...
Thoughts and Feelings: Pre-departure versus Now
Now that the first of the two sessions I am spending in Spain is coming to an end, I can think of a number of things I wish I could tell the pre-departure version of myself. Before departing, I had a wide range of feelings surrounding this experience. I am a huge worrier so, naturally, I was nervous about quite a few things. First, I am terrified of flying and knowing I was going to have to be on a plane for 7+ hours did not help...
Le Tour de Food de France
When you arrive in a new country to study abroad, odds are you will have probably already given a lot of thought to the differences in culture. But I had underestimated just HOW different (and all-consuming) the French food culture is. From my first day in France, I have found myself faced with many new culinary experiences, all of which have been absolutely delicious! When I arrived a few weeks ago in Tours, I was so grateful to have...
Pre- Italy Trip
I am so excited for this trip. I am studying abroad in Florence Italy, and I can’t wait to leave. 13 days left and I am getting all the final paperwork pulled together and starting to pack! This experience will be amazing I just know it. I get to meet family I haven’t met before or haven’t seen in a really long time. I will be spending my 20th birthday abroad and I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate....