There is much to learn from the beautiful things in life. Île de Ré is a lovely little island situated on the Golfe de Gascogne. Holding onto its rich history, the island was first occupied during the Jurassic ages. Its mere 17,000 habitants keep its legacy alive, its economy functioning, and its tourism at an all time peak. This legacy continues to revolve around salt production and donkeys.Towards the north…

I took a class called “Chanson” at la Rochelle Université, which directly translates to “Song” in French. With that title in mind, I didn’t know what to expect going into it. One of my international friends thought the class was going to be a karaoke class, which I had hoped for as well. However, we were slowly let down as we learned the class would entail learning about the history…

Before studying abroad in La Rochelle, France, I had never, EVER, fathomed getting on an airbus, flying across the world, and facing possible peril alone. I’d flown a few times domestically, but the international experience was all new to me. I remember thinking to myself in the Boston airport, “what if this plane goes down?” “What if my passport doesn’t work?” “How embarrassing to be nineteen years old and afraid…

Personally, if it is accessible and affordable, I feel that studying abroad is truly an essential part of every student’s college experience – whether it’s just for a week, month or two, or an entire semester. College, as I’ve experienced thus far, is very much about finding yourself and figuring out what you want to do, and how to make your specific degree program and larger university work for you…

Perhaps what surprised me the most over the course of my time in Italy was just how normal everything felt. Sure, the ancient churches and piazzas everywhere were breathtaking and the arduous hilltop climbs were exhausting – but regardless of it all, Italy felt so much closer to Charleston than I ever could have thought, filled with people just being, well, people. And I think a large contributing factor to…

Within the confines of my study abroad program, there were multiple excursions built-in to experience as a group – my absolute favorite of these was our weekend journey to Florence. I was honestly struck by how small the city felt in contrast to the endlessly bustling streets filled to bursting with tourists. We went on multiple walking tours through the city, learning where the larger tourist-y areas were in contrast…

Ciao! This week my study abroad group had a special surprise because we were in Florence for the festival of the Patron Saint of San Giovanni! Every year, on June 24th, Florence celebrates the feast of its patron saint, San Giovanni, with a series of events throughout the city of Florence, Italy. Florence celebrates San Giovanni by hosting the feast day for its patron saint, St. John the Baptist (San…

After my time at the language school, I moved to Munich to begin the next phase of my summer. I worked for a company called Menschen für Menschen, a Human Development NGO that specialized in project work in Ethiopia. They worked directly with an Ethiopian office, who actually overlooked and implemented the project designs, which my office designs and collects funding for. Their office is right in the heart of…

My time working for NGO Menschen für Menschen in Munich, Germany coincidentally coincided with one of their largest fundraising events in the past few years. It was being held in a village a few hours north of Munich called Ursensollen, which has a large German-Ethiopian population. The event took place in a central community area, with a gorgeous river running through the middle of grassy areas, which we all took…