This Week Abroad - 4/3/15
Blogs Abroad: Let the Countdown Begin!
This is Arcadia's weekly roundup of highlights from student blogs abroad.
For some, this week marks the Countdown to the end of the semester. For others, it's countdown to lift off! That's right, almost everyone was out traveling this week, which isn't very unexpected of a bunch of study abroad students. Margaret catches us up on her adventures at Loch Ness and Inverness, Brenda rides a Camel for the first time in Morocco, Eien finally makes it to the beach AND hikes up a mountain, Lauren advises us against leaving the Netherlands and Emma goes on an epic adventure through the Kepler in New Zealand.
This week, Jillian starts our countdown off with a look back at how transformative her experience abroad has been so far.
Let the Countdown Begin!
"I cannot believe that this week will be my last week of classes here in London! Time has flown by so fast! Even though I am so happy classes are going to be over, I am sad because that means I will have to leave the place that has become my second home. When people say “To travel is to find yourself,” it is very accurate. Without traveling at the very beginning of my time at Arcadia I never would have grown up in so many ways. It is truly amazing to see the change in myself over the years."
My Travels to Morocco!
Brenda in Barcelona, Spain
"This past week, I went to Marrakech, Morocco with three of my friends. We stayed at a beautiful riad and the first day we were there, we had a traditional Moroccan dinner. It was delicious. We were able to go to the flea markets to bargain souvenirs, go camel riding and riding on ATVs. It was literally the best experience that I have endured so far. Morocco was totally a different culture than what I am used to and I was overwhelmed the first day but as the days go by, I became more adjusted to the culture. Now, I am back in Barcelona with only two more weeks here. I am going to fill these two weeks with memories and experiences with the friends that I have made here."
Kepler Adventure
"In the southwest corner of the New Zealand’s south island lies Fiordland. It’s the southernmost nob of the Southern Alps, a waterlogged region of mountains and coast that’s been gouged by glaciers, uplifted by crashing tectonic plates, and invaded by ocean water that’s transformed 14 steep valleys into fjords.
Three out of the five Great Walks on the South Island are in Fiordland. The most famous is the Milford Track, a 53 kilometer trip with a view of Milford Sound, once used by the Maori for transporting greenstone, or jade. The Milford track doesn’t allow camping and huts get booked up 6 months in advance, so there wasn’t much option there. The other two Fiordland Great Walks are the Routbern—we did about half of that one during the Queenstown weekend—and the Kepler."
Never Leave the Netherlands
"Despite the subarctic temperatures, wind chill of around negative 500 and severe rain… IT WAS GREAT! One thing I was not prepared for was the dramatic shift in weather. Obviously, I had not done enough research prior to my visit abroad because it’s apparently a known fact that Holland has dreary weather. Luckily I had packed an extra umbrella and a raincoat and boy did I need it."
LOCH NESS, INVERNESS AND MORE!
Margaret in Edinburgh, Scotland
"This weekend was a blast! One of my best friends came and visited me from Rome and we explored Edinburgh Friday night before heading to Inverness on Saturday morning!
We climbed Salisbury Crags at sunset, which was gorgeous. Watching the sun go down over the city was very neat- now I have to climb it at sunrise (which actually sounds rather awful)! Of course, we had to see the Elephant House, where JK Rowling wrote part of Harry Potter because we are huge nerds. I also had the chance to demonstrate my new dance moves when we went to a Ceilidh Friday night!"
To the Beach and Up the Mountain!
"I finally did it! It took a month but I not only made it to the beach, I also made it up Mt. Keira! Wollongong is situated directly between the beach and Mt. Keira, so there's the option of going to the beach for swimming and exploring rock pools, or hiking up the mountain and getting to see a view of the entire city (while also feeling really accomplished). So my Saturday was about getting up at 9 am, eating breakfast, and meeting up with people by 10:30. Then we took the bus along the shore to North Beach, which is apparently the best for just swimming and relaxing. We left the beach about 1 pm and hurried back to Weerona to get changed and prepared for our hike. We met up with the Queer Collective on campus and then walked to the base of the mountain."