Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Travel Update No. 1


Photos taken in Paris, Strasbourg, Garmisch, Munich, Versaille, & Cinque Terre


I have been so fortunate to have the opportunity to spend a semester in Florence, Italy. Having been here for only a little over a month, I have seen and learned so much. Traveling around Europe is fairly easy to do and I have already been able to visit several different destinations. Just in the first ten days I was here, I attempted to speak three different languages. Emphasis on attempted! It’s important for me to realize what an opportunity it is for me to travel around Europe at my age, especially knowing that right now there are so many refugees being forced to come here out of need for survival. I’ve run into small challenges while being here but all of them have been learning experiences either big or small. Travel has always been something I value and prioritize and living abroad allows me to notice all the subtle cultural differences. For me, that’s walking by the café on my street and seeing the crowd of people around the bar sipping their espresso before they go to work. At home in the US, that experience would be me driving past a Starbucks and seeing everyone waiting to grab their venti latte to-go. (It is very rare to be able to get coffee to-go in Italy – I have only found one café that does it.) Even the sound of sirens here is different enough to remind me that I am not at home. I have cherished these differences and look forward to noticing more of these throughout my time here.
The above photos very briefly capture the places I have visited so far. I fell in love with Paris, drank beer with new friends at Oktoberfest, and ate fresh fish next to the sea in Cinque Terre. I will remember these moments forever and I look forward to making more of these memories. Talk to you soon.
Ciao!
xx Michelle

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Music I enjoy: Everything by Tame Impala. 

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