I’ve been home for a week now and it feels like nothing has changed here. The family is doing well, Hinsdale is filled with familiar faces, and summer is beginning to make its appearance. It sometimes feels like this semester never even happened. It’s so easy to fall back into old routines and habits and get comfortable with what’s familiar. But as I look back at my pictures and read my journal, I remember all of the wonderful moments in the land across the pond.
It’s been just over 100 days since I arrived in Aix, and what an experience it has been. Realizing that this adventure is coming to an end is weird. I’ve begun packing, which has been surprisingly easier than expected, and throwing out endless class notes that I no longer need. I’m definitely ready for the school aspect to be done, but I am getting sentimental about the little aspects that make Aix, Aix.
Traveling is tiring. It takes a lot out of you, and it seems like this semester has been four months of non-stop travel. The plan for this past weekend was to go to Ibiza and have one last hurrah with my roommates before our final weeks here. It was going to be crazy, as Ibiza is known for its parties, and I was excited, but nervous about how tiring it would be on top of the already heavy exhaustion. So when I got the text alert from Ryanair that our flight was cancelled due to French airstrikes once again, I wasn’t heartbroken.
It’s been three months since I arrived in Aix, and I have spent almost every weekend away, so when it came time for yet another break, as crazy as it is to say, I was pretty tired of traveling. It has been non-stop since I first got here in January, and I felt like I just wanted to hang out in Aix. It’s not that I wasn’t excited for the break, I just felt overwhelmed. But I’m so happy to say that this trip was one of the best of the semester. Why? I was with just two other friends (Sallye and Ally woo!) who were on the same page, and I got to explore a side of Europe that was completely unique from the other places I’ve visited.
My first trip to Paris was in 2010 through my high school. There were about twenty students I had never met, and this was my first time abroad. I was nervous, exhausted, and unsure if I was going to make any friends. Our flight landed at 8 am, so naturally the tour guide thought it would be best to see all of Paris on that same day.
Hello all! It’s been a while since I’ve written anything, as my life has been crazy hectic with traveling, school, and family fun.
It’s been a week since my Munich trip, and I can’t help but smile every time I think of how incredible it was. Everything came together so perfectly, from the travel plans to the travel partners, making it truly wonderful. What wasn’t so wonderful however was our 3 am wake up call, but it made it better to travel with friends right from Aix versus my last early wake up. From the bus ride on we were laughing nonstop, and I knew it was going to be a spectacular trip.
Wow! Time has flown by. I’ve been in Europe now for over a month. It’s crazy to look at my pictures and realize how much I’ve done in such a short time. While traveling on the weekends is always wonderful, I have also loved getting to learn about Aix and the quirks that go with it.
I’ve been in nonstop limbo between getting settled in Aix and exploring Europe, and this past weekend was no exception. (But I love it so no problem here). I went to Dublin to meet up with some friends from Chicago to celebrate one of their birthdays! I’ve known Emily and Liz since I was in kindergarten, and no matter where in the world we find each other, we always have a great time. Emily is spending this semester in Florence and Liz is exploring Paris. The fact that we casually met up in Dublin for a weekend still blows me away.
After non-stop fun in Aix the past two weeks, it was time for my first European trip. There are way too many places to go, and not enough time to do it. Prioritizing has been key, but even still I’m realizing that the idea of going “everywhere” this semester was not going to happen. But my list is piled high with different countries, so no complaints here. I started to feel a bit homesick the beginning of last week, and it felt like a good time to see a familiar face, and be immersed in a familiar language. As much as I love the French, it’s work to try and communicate.
ilianablasdell.com 