When I left for Paris I got 4 different messages from friends and family all with the same still from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast included. You know, this one, where Belle is swinging her way into a French library on a ladder, singing and on the prowl for new books. Somewhat fitting, I’ll admit It turns out that this is a fair representation of my time so far in Paris. You have to understand, Belle may not be my…
As the beginning of September approached, I slowly began saying goodbye to friends from home, ended my summer job, visited some friends at Vassar and…waited at home on my couch. Unlike all my friends going to school at Vassar or abroad, I had to wait until September 20 to fly out to London. Alas, on the morning of September 21, I along with twelve of my classmates stumbled out of a rather cozy charter bus onto the streets of New…
I’m a big believer in signs. Growing up, in my desperation to confirm whether or not my crushes “like-liked” me, I ascribed meaning to our most insignificant interactions. If the object of my affection glanced at me in the hallway as we crossed paths, for instance, I could safely start planning our future together. At Vassar, too, I routinely took the presence of my favorite mushy, tasteless cantaloupe in the dining hall to mean I’d have a good day. My…
I am now officially in Madrid living with a host family in an apartment that is only a five-minute walk from Puerta del Sol, the center of the city. I couldn’t have asked for a better location, and there is a metro stop right outside my apartment. The rastro, the biggest flea market I’ve ever seen that takes place every Sunday, is also just a couple of blocks from my home. I have my own room with plenty of space….
Greetings from Madrid! We touched down in Madrid two and a half weeks ago after a general orientation in Galicia, an autonomous region in the northwest corner of the country. Life in Madrid has made a few major changes in our day-to-day lives. First and foremost, we’ve all moved in with our host families, which was an experience in and of itself. Su Casa es Mi Casa I lucked out with my host family. It’s just Mama Tata, Don Juaquin,…
First, I missed my flight. Well, not actually. I made my connecting flight, I was there, the plane was there, but the doors were shut and they would not let me on board. I had sprinted across the Houston airport to no avail, only to be told my efforts were pointless simply because of a technicality of someone being too stubborn to re-open the door, a door that had shut merely four minutes prior. The reality of what I was…
JOURNAL RAMBLINGS #1: En Route to Umbria (Orvieto) Note: The cheapest flight from the Philippines to Rome, Italy, was scheduled about a week before I was allowed to move into my program. Considering the fact that I was going to be living in the Ancient City, I decided that I would travel around the region of Umbria in the extra week, meaning that I could not easily wander around rolling a giant suitcase. Thus began my weeklong backpacking trip carrying…
Somehow, this is only my fourth day in Scotland, but it feels like I’ve been here for a long time, even though the days have flown by. I arrived Tuesday morning expecting it to be at least drizzling, if not pouring rain. It is raining in the United Kingdom, after all, and it rains here constantly if everything I had ever heard is correct. Apparently it is not true, because four days later, I have yet to see a single…
As Audrey Hepburn tells us, “never a briefcase in Paris and never an umbrella. It’s a law.” And, let’s face it, what more perfect human will ever exist? So we (a we that may just include me, a third year Vassar student thrust into a new city and continually in the throes of a love of old movies and impractical but beautifully articulated travel advice) believe her. So basically, if I was in Paris I would be underdressed and soaking…
I think that it is important to be nice to everyone. However, I do not think that I need to be friends with everyone. A lot of people on my study abroad trip are into the latter idea. Sadly, I have found that this has translated into a situation extremely similar to freshmen orientation or summer camp. Everyone wants to meet-up to go to dinner together, or the bar, or to the bathroom. Every time I tag along with the…