So I like to think of my day-to-day life as the personification of the outline of my future memoir. Don’t think much into it, I’m an English major so I have an excuse to be like this. I am studying in England with my best friend Catherine, and each time we gain some sort of…
I have always wondered
I have always wondered: Why would anyone receive an unknown student into their own homes for almost a semester? Someone who does not speak the language, someone who does not know the city (or even the country), and someone who has done everything of their lives differently at their usual American home. Now imagine when…
First Weekend in Athens!
Yes, yes, that title is accurate and referring to this weekend, and I did arrive in Athens way back at the end of August. But, due to all the required, optional, extra, and self-arranged trips, this has been my first weekend in Athens itself. It was quite nice, and for anyone else thinking of doing…
Macau
Macau is a ferry ride away from Hong Kong. It only takes an hour to get there! Macau was a Portuguese colony up to 1999. The city’s vegetation was a little destroyed when we got there. Unfortunately they recently had a typhoon. Many trees were dry and ripped off the ground. Macau is known for it’s massive Casinos and…
A Taste of Japan
Above is a photo close to the entrance of Fushimi Inari in Kyoto, Japan. There are an abundance of temples, shrines, and other buildings with spectacular architecture but this area is one of the most famous. Not necessarily for this photo but mostly for the thousands of Torii gates as shown at the bottom of…
Midpoint Reflections
Being about midterms, and having no rest last week, I used this week as a break. I didn’t have anything planned and was just going to relax. It happened to be the first weekend of the Freimarkt, Bremen’s Oktoberfest, so I did stroll around there, and go to see some fireworks. Since I don’t have…
The Weekend from Hell
You know that old saying ‘when life gives you lemons, make lemonade?’ Well in my experience life will sometimes give you lemons, sometimes it even gives you a freshly squeezed lemonade with a little umbrella straw, and then sometimes it gives you rocks instead of lemons and instead of handing them to you, it throws…
Friday the 13th was Lit
It’s been about a month since I began my study abroad experience and it has been one heck of a ride. I am so lucky that I have been able to embark on this journey with two of my closest friends, of whom I feel closer to than ever. They have really made my experience…
Hanoi, Vietnam
I went to Vietnam with Oscar and Arturo. We stayed in an air bnb in Hanoi the capital of Vietnam. The people there are extremely nice yet they live in an underdeveloped country. There are many people on the streets selling things and the traffic is crazy. There are many motorcycles and the streets were a…
An Ode to Culture Shock
Well, it has officially been five weeks since the Hollins Abroad Paris program has begun, and it has been a whirlwind, to say the least. I’ve started my classes, am getting along with my host family, have figured out how to use the metro (finally), am getting lost less, and overall, am doing pretty well….