Hola amigos, My first post wasn’t much of anything, so I guess I should talk a little about where I’m actually living for the next 4 months. Fact: Mexico City is the third largest city in the world with a population of about 20 million. Fact: Mexico City’s elevation is about 7,400 feet. Fact: Mexico …
So the whole Middle East thing got a little tiring, but rather than simply returning to Chicago, I will be spending this Fall at The Beijing Center for Chinese Studies, located, as the name suggests, in the Chaoyang district of Beijing, China. Now China’s gonna be a tough nut to crack. Oman is a country …
Hola mis amigos, Woo, this past weekend was incredible! The exchange program organized a two day trip to las Grutas de Cacajuamilpa, Taxco and Tepotzlan for the exchange students. We started in las Grutas (huge caves) about 4 hours south of Mexico city. The whole tour took about an hour and a half because its over …
I am week into my 4 month stay in Prague. I know I have been negligent on my postings but my week has been a flurry of activity and exploration. I am halfway through my intensive Czech language class and it has been both fascinating and difficult. The language sounds like a mix between …
Hola queridos! Meet Lupita, Gonzalo Sr., Gina and Gonzalo Jr. They are my host family and they’re fabulous (see attached foto of Lupita y Gonzalo). Lupita is a Mexican version of Bette Midler with her appearance and attitude, but she also feeds you and loves to dance and fight with her husband. Gonzalo is a …
I turned 20 today and I spent the day in the most beautiful city with some of the most amazing people (besides my friends and family back home of course). I will be honest I was a bit down about not being with all my friends back home for the festivities. However, I had a …
Greetings from Italy! Today was only the first day of classes but so much has happened already! Since getting off the plane last Wednesday, I feel like I have been constantly busy adapting to my new surroundings. I don’t feel like I’ve experienced complete culture shock but it will take some time to get used …
Okay, I apologize for the horribly cheesy pun that is the title of this post, but I could not resist. In all the tourist shops here, that phrase is printed on bags, t-shirts, sweatshirts and shorts. Because I will be resisting the temptation to buy a t-shirt in every color for my friends back home, …
I’ve been in Italy for two weeks! I feel like I’ve done so much in the past couple weeks, but at the same time it feels like I just got here. Over the past weekend, the school planned a trip to the Italian region of Umbria. All 200 students got on buses and we traveled …
I have been in Prague for 3 weeks now. It is strange how time passes. In some moments, it feels like time is nonexistent and I am simply standing still in awe of the beauty that I see on a daily basis. Other times, I cannot believe how quickly the sun sets and rises each …