Adventures Abroad

Just going on an adventure....

[sarahannabroad]

Here’s a video of aa day in the life in Siena- summer 2016

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La fontana, Roma #spistudyabroad

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Four days left....

There are four more days till my departure to Rome and I am beyond excited. I just found of that my homestay consists of a mother named Stefania and her six year old son named Riccardo. I am around six year olds a lot from the Ronald McDonald House and babysitting. I love that age and that just makes this experience even more sweet! I am starting to pack for my departure this weekend which is not bad because I actually love packing. If you followed my spain experience, then you would probably know that I do try to post pictures and blog throughout the weeks. I will try my best in Italy! My next post will be in Italia and I’ll update when I arrive.

[sarahannabroad]

12 more days till Italy!

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Rainy days in Siena

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I’m Going to Italy?!?

The last time I made a blog entry was when I was adjusting back to American life after spending a month in Spain. Now I am making an entry announcing that I am going to Italy! I am once again traveling with SPI Study Abroad to Siena, Italy. Siena is located in central Tuscany.

I leave on June 28th and I return July 17th. I am doing the Rome extension which means that for the first few days I will be in Rome, being a tourist and staying in a hotel. After that, I am going to be in Siena where I will stay for two weeks with a host family, attend Italian language school, and experiencing the Italian culture. I decided to go somewhere else because I want to see different cultures and be able to speak different languages. One thing that I feel is worth mentioning is this that I have taken Chinese for three years, and was learning Spanish in Spain for a month. Despite me actually having Italian heritage, looking Italian, eating pasta pretty much every day, I have never taken an Italian class in my life. 

Right now, I am using online resources to learn some basic grammar and vocabulary. Although Chinese is not going to help me in learning Italian, I have heard that Spanish is similar to Italian. Anyway, I want to start posting more on this blog even though I’m not sure how many people see this. If you are in high school and are considering studying abroad, please message me because it is so worthwhile.

[travelbinge]

The duomo by Robert Wilson

Siena, Tuscany, Italy

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My Blog Post For SPI

I recently wrote a post for SPI’s blog if you are interested in reading more about my experience in San Sebastián.

https://www.spiabroad.com/my-san-sebastian-adventures-with-spi-study-abroad/

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Segovia

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Some thoughts on studying abroad....

NOTICE: This was a post I wrote at 12 AM one morning halfway through my trip, and for some reason I accidentally saved it as a draft instead of posting it. I just now noticed that it never posted, so enjoy!

I have been here for about two weeks, and I have matured so much on this trip. I have increased so much independence. I went in to this trip not knowing anybody. Because of that, I was forced to make new friends. The moment I found my gate in the Dallas airport, I made some friends right then (shout out to Ana and Sydney). Right then I realized that I am not alone, and I could do this. Ana and Sydney are on the two week program which means they will be leaving San Sebastián tomorrow :(. All of the summer 1 participants that I have met are amazing and I hope we can all stay in touch.

The other day I went shopping on my own without my mom which was a really big deal for me. However, at that moment it didn’t even occur to me that I have changed so much over these past two weeks.

I have already realized that I want to keep traveling my whole life. America is great, and I’m building my future there, but I always wants to keep discovering new places. Right now this sounds like I’m going home tomorrow, but I still have two more weeks left! These are some cultural things I’ve recently noticed. 

-Europeans don’t really drink tap water. They always drink bottled water. As a result you have to pay for water at restaurants.

-People are very friendly in san sebastián. Even a simple Hola on an elevator reminds me of Texas hospitality back at home.

- If you start dancing to “YMCA” on a ferry with your friends after an SPI excursion to Santa Clara, Spaniards will laugh and join in and start recording you.  and then comment on how they think you’ve been drinking... This made my day!

[sarahannabroad]

Reverse Culture Shock

After about two and a half weeks, I have learned that it has been just as hard adjusting back at home as it was adjusting to life in San Sebastiàn. Although I have lived in Fort Worth, TX pretty much my entire life, nothing can take away the strangeness of returning to my hometown after living in another town for an entire month. Everything in Spain from the food, transportation, weather, people, and atmosphere has  completely contrasted with life in Texas. This has resulted in something called Reverse Culture Shock. Everyone feels different when returning to their home country, but for me I was ecstatic the first week to see all of my friends and family, (and of course Tex-Mex). However, after the first week I started to get emotional. I started to think about all of the people and experiences in Spain. The honeymoon stage was over, and the adjustment stage had begun. How did I deal with culture shock? I prioritized the things that I missed while I was at Spain (I discussed such things on my last post). I caught up with my friends and family and marathon watched “Gilmore Girls” on Netflix. Well actually I am still currently marathon watching “Gilmore Girls”, but hey I have to see what Lorelei and Rory are up to, right? Anyway, I still miss Spain significantly, but there is always next summer. It’s hard to accept that one adventure is over, but I try to think that every day is a little adventure, and there are things to see and learn. 

-Tomorrow, I leave for Fredericksburg, TX for the weekend, and I’m absolutely ready to get back down to the Hill Country.

[sarahannabroad]

San Fermín in Pamplona

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Things I Miss About Spain

It’s been about a week and a half since I’ve left Spain. Although I am grateful to be back on a normal routine, there are many things that I have been missing including:

- Ice cream from Boulevard 

-All of the meals my family prepared

- My host family

-All of the people that I met while I was there

-The beaches

-churros con chocolate 

-afternoon and weekend excursions

-being able to walk everywhere

-speaking spanish

This is just a little short list that I will probably be adding on to....

[sarahannabroad]

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