My flight on the way back was interesting. For some reason, when the flight attendents came around serving drinks, I ordered in German instead of English. I missed hearing German already. Continue Reading . . .

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Well…It’s been over a week since I’ve been back in the states. As extremely hard as it was leave such a city as Rome, it was really nice to come home to family. Continue Reading . . .

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I brought up in a conversation, the German farewell, “Auf Wiedersehen.” I noticed that I had never really heard anybody say it, and that it seemed kind of corny and old fashioned. But when we had to say our final goodbyes to all of our fellow IES friends at the end of this semester, “Auf Wiedersehen” seemed appropriate. The literal meaning of “Auf Wiedersehen” means “until we see again” and I sure hope we really do all see each other again in the near future.

It’s pretty amazing to think that 28 students, all from different schools, backgrounds, communities, values, opinions, can come together and all get along, and form such close friendships. We celebrated by renting the “Partywagon,” a cute old-fashioned straßenbahn that drove all throughout Freiburg for 3 hours. We enjoyed each others company, the music, a White Elephant gift exchange, and finger food. Almost everyone came, contributed, had an amazing time, and I think that in itself says a lot right there.

Goodbyes never are fun, especially when you know the harsh reality, that you will probably not see these people for a very long time again. I said my farewells, packed up my bags, and headed home. I’m so thankful that I will be coming back to Freiburg next semester, but am a little sad, because most of my friends are only here for the fall semester, and I just know that it’ll be pretty hard to compare to this great group of people.

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Though I’ve spent nearly an entire semester here in Rome, my enjoyment and love for this incredible city has never ebbed away. Class field studies still enthrall me; a sense of the foreign has yet to fade and allude me of excitement. Everything is still just as awe-inspiring as when I first arrived which makes it all the more difficult to know I’ll have to say “Arrivaderci!” to it all so soon.
This past Monday we had a national holiday here in Italy, so school was cancelled. Most IES students took full advantage of this three-day weekend to go off and see another corner of the world. Instead of going with the crowd and taking off on another whirlwind journey across Europe, I decided to stay put, and venture out on my own to places here in Rome I had not yet been. Magnificently historic monuments, splendidly gorgeous churches, wonderfully astonishing museums - I saw so much! Even though I grew slightly jealous of my roommates when they returned and told of their spectacular journeys to far-off destinations, I still felt more than content with the decision I made. For me, I saw nothing better than exploring the unexplored in Rome, la città di tutte le città.

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So at the last minute, a friend of mine and I decided to go to Madrid for the weekend. We had been told that it was going to be colder than Barcelona, and so we were nervous. To our suprise, the weather wasn’t that bad at all- and we had a great time!

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So I made it back to the states, and it is like I am living in a whole new world. I went from summer to winter, beaches to suburbs, a city with 5 million and a school with 44,000 to my 3,200 student school in my small city. Living and studying in Australia was a totally new and opposite experience from what I have gotten accustomed to in the States, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing. I really hope that anyone who is given the opportunity to study abroad takes it without thinking twice. My study abroad experience is something that I will never forget.

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Week-end escapade to Italy.

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