It is crazy to look back and think I have been in Rome for basically 4 months now and that in 5 days I will be returning to Miami. It’s almost shocking and scary to think about it. I feel like I won’t be able to talk in English because the words that will come…
Final Stretch
Ciao! Not going to lie, I am drowning in work. Finals are coming up so I’ve been studying constantly while trying to still enjoy my abroad experience. I think I’m ready to go home, but at the same time, I know I will miss my time here in Italy. I miss my car mostly, just…
Journal entry 3
I judge every city against New York City. New York city is a patchwork city of many cultures, languages, and experiences. Because of the sheer variety of experiences and people, it is relatively easy for me to blend in seamlessly. It is an international city and a city of travelers. Sydney measures up very well….
Journal entry 2
These first few weeks in Australia have been a whirlwind. As always, things did not go according to plan, a fixture in my life. Upon landing I made the almost immediate discovery my bags had disappeared somewhere between Orlando and Melbourne. This was not an auspicious start to this experience. I was forced to almost…
Australia Pre-Blog
I exist in a space somewhere between American and Colombian identities. I’ve been traveling for my entire life. As a child, I left Colombia to come to the United States, and in the United States we found ourselves frequently moving. For this reason, tradition for me is solely associated with the people in my life…
A Reflection on Studying Languages
During the very first few days of my program, I remember having a conversation with one of my fellow classmates that has continued, throughout the entirety of the semester, to perfectly encapsulate the tedious, complex, and yet entirely fascinating process of learning a new language. Our talk followed a particularly-lengthy orientation lecture, during which, at…
Some Small Letters
It hurts to know a good thing is ending. Finals are wrapping up; I’ve just finished my last shift at the Jermyn Street Theatre; things are changing. I guess I never realized how much studying abroad would bring about change—how consistently, from the beginning to the end of the experience. What I’ve been able to…
PS: Coming Home
Hey everyone! It’s Manny again. I am finally back home in the warm and sunny Miami. The program is over, summer is here, and I am super ready to relax! I never realized how much I missed the torrential rains of Florida and, you know, the sun. After three months in London, one tends to…
Yes: Abroad changed me. Yes: I’m a cliché.
It’s been about a week now since I’ve flown home to the States and I’m back in my room, staring at the all too familiar pink striped carpet and laying in the same bed I was laying in right before I left. I would say that everything is the same, but something has changed; and…
Reflection after returning from London
Before I arrived in London, I assumed that my identity as an American would cause conflict and result in people looking down on and judging me. I was warned that the British like to casually talk about politics in their everyday life. It is not as taboo or viewed as divisive as it is for…