Preparing for abroad so far has yet to be a walk in the park. It has felt like applying to colleges all over again, but this time you feel even more stupid and clueless because if I’ve done this before, shouldn’t I be better equipped the second time?
My war with my student visa. The stress of this experience feels like it took years off my life and it was no one’s fault but my own.
I have a bad habit of either procrastinating or panicking and completing tasks much before I actually need to have them done. Somehow I did both in the process of applying for my student visa.
I scheduled my biometrics appointment — where you send your fingerprints and photo to the visa processing center — very early in advance. All you need to do is upload your supporting documents proving that you are a student, that you have the necessary finances to support yourself abroad, insurance, and things like that 24 hours before your appointment. Surely this can’t be a hard deadline, right? Wrong. I spent 2 hours, 3 robocalls, and $80 worth of assistance fees solving that problem late at night the day before my appointment.
On the day of my appointment, I finally felt at peace after the harrowing night I had prior. I only had two tasks. 1) Bring my passport and the paper with my reference number. 2) Arrive 15 minutes early to my appointment. I was driving down the freeway on my way to the Portland USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) building without a care in the world, singing my music, on track to be an additional 10 minutes early on top of the 15 minutes before my appointment. I looked over to my passenger seat, and all I saw was my purse. No passport or papers. It was too late to turn around, I was already almost there. I immediately exited the freeway and called my mom to make sure they were where I left them. My beautiful mother, I cannot thank you enough for saving me and bringing the papers to where I was parked and panicking.
After I secured the papers, I was on track to be 10 minutes late for my scheduled appointment. I was absolutely panicking. I walked into the government building with tears in my eyes and spoke to the first person I saw. I didn’t even recognize recognise my voice when it left my body, it was so high-pitched. I asked if it was okay that I was 15 minutes late for my appointment. The literal ICE officer looked at me, looked at my paper, and said, “Oh you’re totally fine, they don’t care that much about these.” In my state of panic, I did not realize realise that he had begun putting my stuff in a TSA-style bin and I was being ushered through what looked exactly like airport security. The immigration officer was right, once I got to the right room the woman working the desk immediately stamped my papers and gave me a number to wait for my turn to get my fingerprints and photo taken. I cried tears of relief in the USCIS waiting room.
I hope sharing this story will help at least one future study abroader. Please be more responsible than me. But if you’re not, it will likely turn out okay anyway.
I want to prepare for the gloomy weather and I am confident in my ability to do so, as I have survived 18 Oregon autumns. Still, I think it will be hard to forget the Colorado sunshine. Yesterday was also the first rain of the summer here in Portland and I canceled cancelled my plans and stayed inside all day. I don’t want to fall into that habit this fall.
I’m wondering for this blog if I should use American English spelling or British English spelling. I’m leaning towards the latter, you know, to really immerse myself.
More tears today. I got an email last night containing the details of my internship assignment through the University of Westminster and it was the exact magazine that I wanted. I’ve been grinning like a fool ever since I read the email. I will be a part of the editorial team at Cent Magazine — a London-based publication that covers fashion, culture, art, design, literature, and much more. I am so beyond excited to learn from the staff there.
I spent my last few days in America not at home but in Denver, moving out of my storage unit I had over the summer and into my house I will share with my friends come January when I’m back on DU’s main campus. I spent time catching up with my roommates who aren’t going abroad this quarter and reflecting on how we are halfway through our college experiences at DU. Things feel much more grown up in a house compared to the dorms we have been in together the past two school years.
On the way to the airport, I was feeling petrified. The unknown is oftentimes terrifying, and this is the biggest leap into the unknown I have ever taken in my life. It is really difficult to imagine what the next three months are going to look like for me.
My mood shifted dramatically when I was through security with a Diet Coke in hand. My nervousness completely transformed into excitement.
My first moments in London were surprisingly calm. Customs was a breeze and getting a taxi to my dorm was super easy. I immediately met up with my friends, Sydney and Ava, and we set out to shop for essential items for our rooms like pillows and sheets.
Walking on busy streets here is extremely difficult. My initial reaction was, “Wow, people really do not know how to walk here.” And then I realized that I’m the people that don’t know how to walk here. Working on it!
London has been super interesting to me because it seems that everyone here is from somewhere else. In my research and preparation before coming here, I learned that over 300 languages are spoken in London but I had no idea how apparent that would be in my day-to-day life.
Orientation week has been very laid back with lots of free time. After a few short information sessions/lectures, I’ve found the time to explore Portabello Market, Notting Hill, Brick Lane and more. My favorite favourite was shopping around the vintage market that is under Brick Lane.
I saw someone online say that there is no such thing as a good deal in London. Unfortunately, I have found this to be very true in my six days here. Another thing that makes budgeting difficult is the exchange rate from UK pounds to US dollars. 20 pounds doesn’t seem like a significant amount of money when out and about, but in reality, it is $26.40. It might not seem like a big difference, but the costs have been adding up. For the rest of my time here I want to work on finding more affordable places to eat and shop.
Tomorrow, I am off to Munich to celebrate Oktoberfest. I am very thankful to have this time to travel before my classes and internship begin. Stay tuned for my next post with updates on my experience in Germany and my first week with actual responsibilities!
I am not in the slightest what one would call a “picky eater”. I am, in fact, quite the opposite: a foodie. I will eat just about anything, put it in front of me and I won’t knock it till I’ve tried it. So you can imagine my excitement to study abroad in Bilbao, Spain, where Basque cuisine reigns. I simply could not WAIT to try everything.
Each day on my walk to school I pass a little butcher shop seemingly dedicated to jamón ibérico, and that is partly what inspired this blog. I really wanted to highlight the mundane day-to-day of what I see, experience, and taste here in Bilbao. Food is what life seems to revolve around here. In the mornings we pass coffee shops and ice cream stands, as well as a wide variety of upscale restaurants still waiting peacefully to be open until the evening. After our first class of the day, we go to a little café in our college, and we can get a little croissant or coffee for just a couple Euros. I would argue that food is such an integral part of any culture, and Spain is certainly no exception.
Pintxos
Fun fact about Bilbao: it has one of the highest concentrations of Michelin-star restaurants in all of Spain (thank you to my hospitality major friend for that). Walking along the streets of Bilbao I’ve noticed them here and there, and I’ve begun to crave a rather expensive 5-star meal. However, you can easily experience equally exquisite dining at any little bar along any street. Each of these bars usually serves a variety of drinks, as well as little tapa-like items, better known as pintxos. A “pintxo” is a small dish, usually consisting of a piece of bread adorned with a variety of meats and cheeses, croquettes, fish, and more. The pintxo is super unique and actually got its name from the cocktail stick holding it together. “Pincho” in Spanish means skewer and spike. That’s what differentiates it from a supposed tapa. It’s not a tapa, it’s a pintxo! One of my favorite variations of a pintxo is one with something called “jamón ibérico”. Jamón ibérico is a variety of cured meat most popular here in Spain. It comes from a cured leg of ham, which is commonly seen hanging from most meat markets here, and is considered a staple of both Portuguese and Spanish cuisine. I will be honest, I did not develop a fondness for this meat until my abroad experience, as every time I had tried it in the past it was against my will (thank you to my father), and was simply not as good as the authentic, Spanish quality of jamón here in Spain. It is served with many dishes here, especially “bocadillos” which are sandwiches one can eat for a mid-morning snack or lunch. Specifically, sandwiches made with a baguette. Jamón is also often incorporated in our host-stay breakfast, laid atop our bread smothered with tomatoes.
Tortilla de Patatas
Now another one of my favorite Spanish dishes is something called “tortilla de patatas” (which I am currently enjoying as I write this section of my blog). It’s basically a Spanish omelet, a mixture of egg and potatoes, happiness, and sometimes onion. It. Is. DELICIOUS, and is also sometimes served on top of a sliver of bread as a pintxo. You can even put stuff between the two tortillas, like vegetables, cheese, or even tuna. I think it is one of the snacks I will miss the most after my quarter of study abroad, the warmth of the potatoes and the smoothness of the egg, it’s such a simple, yummy snack.
Wine
I have also come to discover the art of good quality wine. We recently completed an excursion to La Rioja, a part of Spain dedicated to lots of “bodegas” or wine cellars. We got to go down into one and do a tasting, and I learned so much about varieties of wine aging, coloring, and smell. I had NO idea there was so much that went into wine production, and I had no idea you could tell how old or young a wine was just based on the coloring! It was so interesting. It was also refreshing to find that here in Spain a glass of wine is quite normalized, as long as it is paired with pintxos or a full meal of course. Drinking culture is much more relaxed here, quite in contrast to the American way of enjoying an alcoholic beverage. My personal favorite is a white wine called “txakoli”, pronounced “chac-o-li”, traditional to the Basque area of Spain. I often get it confused with another common beverage called “kalimotxo”, pronounced “chali-motcho”, a mixture of red wine and Coca-Cola that was invented around 1972 during a Puerto Viejo festival, when a group of friends noticed the wine quality was poor, so to make it sweeter they mixed it with Coca-Cola (so interesting). I personally do not enjoy it, but it is fun to learn the origin!
I have to admit, as much as I adore the food here, it took me a minute to adjust (as discussed in a previous blog of mine), and one of the biggest “issues” of mine I’ve had to overcome is a supposed lack of vegetables. There is a preconceived notion that Europe has a lack of vegetables, and when I first arrived I certainly agreed. Then I got more comfortable here and quickly found that you just have to use your eyes and LOOK. There are plenty of vegetables! They just aren’t quite as popularly paired with each meal. Another adjustment food-wise was the portion sizing here. Everything is served in smaller, more digestible portions, and I have to say I absolutely love it. I feel full in a satisfied way, not in a bloated way I usually feel back home in the U.S. I have definitely enjoyed the lack of additives in my processed foods as well, though I have to say I was surprised opening a bag of hot Cheetos and being met with an entirely different flavor. I really admire how Spain handles food, and I have felt happier and healthier after each meal just knowing my food is made with clean ingredients.
Overall, it is safe to say that I am deeply infatuated with Spanish cuisine. I can’t wait to learn about and try more of the foods that are so deeply ingrained within this culture. I signed up for a class on gastronomy this semester, and I could not be more ecstatic. Next week there will be a pintxo tasting and I will for SURE have an update! Thank you Spain for keeping me so well fed.
DU Abroad 