Ciao USA

February 22, 2015
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Italy
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It is strange how many mixed emotions one feels before they get ready to study abroad. I felt every single emotion humanly possible all at once. I was excited about traveling to Italy, a place I have never been before, and have always dreamed of going. I was nervous about the language barrier, having never learned a single word of Italian. I was in anticipation of the carb haven which awaited me. The month before I left flew right on by, especially because my mother was off to Hawaii for 2 weeks prior to my departure. I also wanted to make sure I said all my goodbyes, and then some. I ventured up to New Paltz for a few nights to say goodbye to everyone there, because by the time I fly home their semester will have ended. I was also very grateful for the wonderful friends in my life who attended my going away party in Queens.

Saying goodbye to my summer staff at Asian Fusion

Sisters of Kappa Alpha Gamma chapter of Kappa Delta Phi N.A.S. at my going away party

Luckily, just by chance I was flying on the same flight as another New Paltz student, Kara, so I had the comfort of knowing I would not be alone upon my arrival. I was also fortunate enough to have the knowledge that the housing service in Milan would be at the airport upon arrival to whisk us off to our individual apartments. Considering my lack of prior exposure to the Italian language, these were blessings for me.

Selfie with Kara at the airport

There was a lot that had to be done before I left. My flight was the same day as the Super Bowl, which was unfortunate however, Milan trumps football any day. My parents took me to the airport, and I was off to the biggest adventure of my life.

Saying goodbye to my dad at the airport

Kisses from my mom at the airport

Starting Winter Break In France

April 2, 2014
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France
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L’Université de Franche-Comté grants us a total of three weeks of vacation during the spring semester, starting with one week off at the end of February for winter break. I had the opportunity to travel with Gissel and Trish to Lyon first.

We found an apartment to stay in on www.airbnb.com. I greatly recommend this website for whenever you are looking for affordable accommodations during your travels. You create an account and can browse through countless offers, tailoring your search to certain price ranges, lodging types, and specific locations.

The first day in Lyon we discovered the Parc de la tête d’or to visit the botanical gardens and the zoo. Unfortunately it was too chilly so some animals couldn’t come out.

View from the apartment

Plants from South America

“Le Petit Panda”

Absolutely breathtaking

This guy looks embarrassed. He’s probably just cold

Unfortunately my camera had broke so my iPhone had to suffice for the rest of the week. The next day we explored Vieux Lyon where we found breathtaking churches and ancient Roman ruins.

Amphitheater

These churches are too big to capture in one picture

View of Vieux Lyon

We purchased tickets for a Segway Tour for our third day in Lyon. What started off as a joke turned out to be a great experience. Where can I find myself a segway?

Gissel practicing, it’s not as easy as it looks!

Proud of my newly learned skills

And at night we attended Oh! Paradis, a one and a half hour drag show for 25 euros that included desserts to share and a drink each. Please excuse the quality of my photos, I was heartbroken that I no longer had my camera.

Freddie Mercury

Madonna

For my first drag show, I was not disappointed. I sang along to the songs I knew and just stuck to dancing for the ones I didn’t. Those three days in Lyon were incredible. Although three days was not enough, it was off to Nice to meet up with Gabby and Anna!

Introduction To My Newfound French Life

April 1, 2014
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France
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As I think about the past two and a half months of my life I can’t seem to understand how all of my experiences fit into that small span of time. So let me start from the beginning.

I can still remember the day I landed at the Charles de Gaule airport in Paris with seven other New Paltz students and no idea how to get around like it was yesterday. For the first few days I didn’t understand any signs around or anything anyone was saying. But my relaxed personality kept me from feeling a culture shock and I adjusted to French life almost immediately.

The view from my room

Wall art everywhere

Looking back over two months later I realize many things have happened. Starting with the obvious, my French has greatly improved. But what I did not realize right away was that I had never truly had a conversation in French before my departure. My confidence in the language only arose from conjugating verbs in class and reciting prewritten sentences that I had plenty of time to construct beforehand. Now I find myself debating topics in class and bonding with people that don’t speak a word english.

So far this semester I have made a bunch of incredible friends from all around the country, I learned to rock climb with French directions, and I’ve been to two Rugby games.

The dorm rooms are small but we fit

Trusting Gabby to bring me down

Merguez and vin chaud from the rugby game

I’ve also been lucky enough to enjoy the two excursions included in the SUNY program – the first to Haut-Doubs.

Enjoying the cheese factory in Haut-Doubs

The cheese factory: where the magic happens

It was impossible to capture the beauty of the waterfall that serves as a border between Switzerland and France

We’re standing on the Switzerland side of the waterfall while the picture was taken from the France side

The second trip to both Geneva, Switzerland and Annecy, France was even better.

Le jet d’eau, or the geyser, in Geneva

We enjoyed a beautiful boat tour on the lake of Annecy

We even got to explore the Centre Ville of Annecy at night

Though the culture here is much more relaxing than New York, I have had all but a dull moment this semester. We’ve even been lucky enough to enjoy a week off at the end of February for winter break, which made it possible for me to explore other parts of France, including the Carnaval de Nice. Stick around for my next post to see how incredible that vacation was!

Ferrero & Friends

November 29, 2013
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Spain
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The day of…

¡Feliz día de acción de gracias! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This is my very first Thanksgiving not spent with my family–is this that growing up thing Peter Pan feared so much? Thanksgiving in Madrid is definitely no Thanksgiving in New York, but I’m not complaining either (we had our first dust of snow of the season this morning!). When I woke up this morning I yelled, “It’s Thanksgiving!” but quickly felt an emptiness. Spanish stores and food markets have skipped right past to Christmas decorations and treats, so to pay homage I made myself a savory turkey wrap for lunch :p I also put up a little holiday decoration once the leaves started to fall!

Gobble gobble!

When I returned to my room after a quick run to the supermarket, I found a really sweet surprise: a Ferrero Rocher gold, bow-topped box and a Kinder Sorpresa** sat neatly on my desk! My roommate, who was studying at her desk, had bought me the sweets as a Thanksgiving treat, knowing that I missed celebrating at home. Even though it was such a small, simple gift, I felt so happy. She also knew how much I wanted to try a Kinder Sorpresa before I left Spain. I gave my roommate a huge hug as she told me how she wanted to make the a little more special for me.

My roommate gave me a fancy box filled with Ferrero Rocher. I also got to eat my very first Kinder Sorpresa…yum!!

Although I know of a few international students gathering for potlucks tonight, Thanksgiving generally isn’t celebrated here in Spain…for a rather obvious reason (it’s a celebration of pilgrims’ emigration from Britain to the United States.) The Spanish articles that I’ve read about the holiday are primarily about Black Friday, the ways Americans celebrate the holiday., and President Obama sparing a turkey named “Popcorn.”

I wanted to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade online but I couldn’t find one working link…but I did watch some of the NBC news leading up to it.

The night of…

I went out to Sol with a few close friends [Thanksgiving night] and noticed that a few bars were offering special Thanksgiving menus (pumpkin cream, turkey, cranberry sauce, etc.) I didn’t go to any of these said bars, but I had a really nice night with three of my closest friends here. I felt really happy–even though I wasn’t celebrating the holiday with my family in New York, I was celebrating my time here in Madrid with these friends who’ve made this place a new home. Earlier in the day I was able to Skype with my mother, who showed me her lovely dinner table arrangement, and I got to see my cute dogs as well.

Being away from home this semester has led me to feel thankful not only on Thanksgiving day, but the entirety of my semester abroad. When you’re away from the comforts of home and are pressed to do much more than you’re used to on your own, you learn how to appreciate those things you had so easy. I’m thankful for having such a loving family and caring friends, thankful for coming from a country that is relatively very open to change, thankful for being able to receive a quality education, thankful for being able to spend almost five months in a completely different country…and my list can go on and on.

As I said, Thanksgiving in Spain is no Thanksgiving in the United States, but I had a wonderful day reflecting on the marvelous things I’ve been blessed to give, receive, share and experience.

**Kinder Sorpresa, otherwise known as Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs, is illegal in the United States due to safety reasons; each Kinder Sorpresa has a toy inside, but the chocolate itself is really delicious.