Tag: study abroad

Spending the weekend in your host city…

Published on by AdriLeave a comment

While studying abroad it seems that everyone is always off to a explore a different country each weekend, and spending quality time in your host city in is often overlooked. My piece of advice after studying abroad in two different countries is to balance out your weekends in your city, and time spent traveling. Not only will this help make your travel experiences more enjoyable, reduce burnout, tiredness (from those 6am budget flights, etc…) but it will also help you truly experience your city.

No one else staying behind for the weekend? No problem. Often we feel like we should make every day studying abroad a perfect one, and a social one. But the truth is, sometimes it doesn’t work out like that. For example, two of my apartment-mates came here as friends and have travel together every weekend, and I am not that close with my roommate because we have very different schedules and lifestyles. So, while I wish I had someone to walk around the city with this weekend, I plan on making the most of it, enjoying some solo time to slow down, experience and reflect. You never know what you may stumble upon or come to realize with some self-time.

On Friday I slept in and then did some chores around the house, cooked some meals… and while I felt ‘behind’ my schedule, I just needed to remind myself I am where I need to be, and that this was my chill day. I then went out walking without using any directions. At this point I know the route to the beach and back, but its also just fun to wander and see where you end up. If I only have a few days to explore a city or country, then I like to have everything mapped and planned. But if I am somewhere for a long period of time, I always try to have an experience of ‘getting lost’. I happened to wander by the well known ‘kiss mural’ in Barcelona, that I hadn’t seen yet, and pass by a cellist outside a church playing one of my favorite songs, ‘Moon River’. I then wandered a long the beach trying to find a quiet, sunny spot. It was a rather interesting day at the beach. I witnessed someone walking on someones back, massaging them, two guys selling beach blankets getting into a yelling argument, and finally, I had a lady come up to me and pinch my shoulder asking if I wanted a massage, which startled me so much because she snuck up on me. Then I watched the sunset, and the sky fade from light blue, to dusty pink, and smoky purple.

On Saturday, it was as I anticipated, a cloudy, chilly, rainy day. Perfect for what I had planned. I enjoyed sleeping in again, then walked down the block down to my favorite cafe called Afecte. It’s always these two friendly Spaniards, and one Argentinian working, and I always practice my Spanish with them. Most Spaniards are so friendly and happy when you speak Spanish to them. Also, Barcelona has sooooo many fabulous, aesthetic, wonderful cafes and brunch places. There is practically one everywhere you look, serving beautifully plated food, with people chatting or doing work. Something about Barcelona that I enjoy is that people work in cafes, similar to in the US. For example, when I was in Italy, no one did this, it wasn’t common. From there I walked down to the Boqueria, and got a few oranges from the produce stalls. I am still trying to find the best and most affordable place to buy produce in Barcelona, there are so many options! I always love getting my produce from stalls or markets rather than a grocery store, and it is usually better quality, and more local. Then I walked to La Virreina Centro de la Imagen. A wonderful free museum! I really enjoyed this, it was a great free experience to do in Barcelona, with some interesting exhibitions. After that I went to another free museum called Museu Frederic. Finally to end the night, I went to a free International mass at La Sagrada Familia! It was so amazing, I definitely recommend even if you’re not religious (like me) because it also gets you free access into the building. Overall a really nice experience, and it gave me nostalgia to going to mass with my host family way back then.

On Sunday I wanted to check out this large, free cactus and botanical garden near the beach. So I walked down there, and also walked up into the hills on Mont. Juic. There was a more extensive garden then I realized! I caught the sunset up there, then met up with my friends at Casa Batllo (one of Gaudi’s houses, which just so happens to be a few blocks down from me). At Batllo they were doing a really cool lights show, that they only do every so often. Lastly, I finished up some homework for the weekend, and planned my week!

It was a great weekend in Barcelona, and after spending two weekends in Barcelona here are some places I’ve explored. As well as a little re-cap of many different free activities you can do when in Barcelona:

  • Casa Batllo
  • Casa Mila
  • (Any other casa by Gaudi)
  • La Boqueria
  • La Virreina Centro de la Imagen
  • Museo Frederic
  • Jardins de Mossen Costa
  • Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (free on Saturday’s anytime after 3)
  • the beach!
  • See La Sagrada Familia and the park nearby
  • Bunkers el Carmel
  • Parc de la Cuitadella
  • Arc de Triomf
  • More to come!

Follow along on my time in Barca, and see more photos here! https://www.instagram.com/pranaphotos_/

The Dichotomy of New Experiences: Pre-Departure Thoughts of a First-Gen Student

Published on by Hannah AdamsLeave a comment

T–Minus 50 Days Until Take Off 

I keep waiting to wake up. For someone to tell me that this was only a dream, and that I am not actually leaving for Japan in 50 days. If I was a character in a children’s television show, I would yell out to the world, “Somebody pinch me!” and hope that, by some miraculous force, someone’s hand would pinch mine. 

And yet, here I am: not a children’s television character, but a human, wide awake and experiencing this in real time.

I exist in a constant state of disbelief that this is even happening to me. Last week, my friends and I officially booked our flights to Japan. This morning, I officially accepted my Gilman Scholarship Award and am in the process of finalizing everything. It finally set in that this is actually real.

I am actually going to Japan! My first ever international trip! I’m giddy just at the thought that these words are my reality, that I am doing so in this lifetime, and it isn’t just my imagination.

I still have so much to do in preparation for my departure, but I am so excited to have this new experience with my friends. We have already started planning different places we want to see and visit and have even started looking at the coffee shops and cafés near our campus. I started a wish list for things I need, along with a list of everyone I want to buy souvenirs for and what to buy them. I am planning solo-travel days and downloading different travel itineraries from travel influencers and locals on what things to do when in Japan. 

I created a widget on my phone that counts down how many days I have left until we leave and I constantly find myself checking in on it, hoping the days continuously get lower and lower until it’s eventually the day of take off and I am stepping on that plane platform. But alas, the days stay 24 hours, and the weeks stay 7 days. 

As a first-generation student, this is something that I never expected to have ever been able to do, especially for no cost. Simply being the first one in my family for many generations to receive a higher education is an utmost blessing in and of itself but having the opportunity to study abroad is the opportunity of a lifetime. I carry the dreams of my ancestors along with me in my shadow, and I bring everything they taught me throughout my actions in my life. It is because of them that I am even in college getting the ability to even have this opportunity. 

It is for these reasons, though, despite my excitement, that I am also incredibly anxious anticipating what awaits me. 

The unknown is both welcoming and extremely terrifying. 

Trying to know what to expect and how to plan accordingly as a first-generation student has been a challenge I knew would come, but was unexpectedly underprepared for. How does one apply for a visa? Or navigate customs? How do I know what forms I need and how to get them if my mom also has no idea? 

Going this far away from home for the first time is also going to be a major adjustment that I am nervous for. I moved away from home for college, but there is a difference between moving from the green peaks of the Appalachians to the snowy peaks of the Rockies, and moving across oceans to be in the home place of the beautiful Mount Fuji, yet almost 7,000 miles away from the home I know. 

From mountain peak to mountain peak, navigating the cultural differences is one thing, but I am scared that my naivety will be to my detriment while abroad. This feeling of uncertainty is definitely a strong one, and the imposter syndrome that follows along with it has been becoming increasingly difficult to manage. Everyone else seems to have it all figured out, and yet here I am, unsure and ignorant to the realities and struggles. 

What if I can’t make it abroad? What if everything I planned for ends up falling short because I was underprepared? 

Yet, as I sit and listen to the stories of those around me, I have learned that no one ever has it truly figured out. Sure, it may take me a bit longer to figure out how things work, but, in the end, this will be a new experience for almost everyone. The fear and the excitement are mutually exclusive, and they work in tandem. I have learned that anxiety is normal, and it is okay to feel it! 

First-generation students like myself deserve the opportunity to excel and enter gates that were previously closed to us before. As I savor my final 50 days in Denver, I will use my time to appreciate the privilege of experience and change without denying myself the permission to feel the very real worry that I am feeling. They are not antitheses of one another, but rather welcomed companions on my journey.