Intern International

   I should be sleeping right now, but I've been thinking about it and I realized I've never talked about my school experience here in Bogi. For all you guys know, I might not be going to class at all. I also realized that I have never talked about my experience living and traveling in Europe from a practical and financial perspective. So I want to talk about them both, starting with traveling. :)     For context, 1 euro is worth about 1.75 dollars. So everything is just a bit more expensive in Europe.     Well, obviously I've been traveling a lot. It seems like I'm in a new country every month. So the question is, how has it not broken my bank? Traveling in Europe is actually pretty cheap. Since I came here with the intent of seeing and doing as much as possible, I'm willing to drop money on new opportunities and experiences, but that doesn't mean I don't like to be thrifty. But it's not hard. A huge blessing is that quite a few of my trips hav...

    One of the perks of being an international student is that trips and outings come included with my school. The trip I was most looking forward to when I signed up for this whole adventure was a week of skiing. I brought an extra suitcase just for my ski gear.     One of my favorite things about myself is that I have two very distinct parts of my personality. The one most people tend to know me for is the really nerdy, studious, bookish, artsy girl who likes to dress in interesting clothes and collect pretty books about ancient Greece. The other girl, less known, is the one who likes to dive for frogs in muddy ponds, catch five feet of air on the piste, jump off cliffs into lakes, and climb mountains. What I love most about these two pieces of myself, is that although they seem contradictory, they work quite well together and are equally important to who I am. Those who truly know me, know this. However, now that I'm in an academic environment, most of my fri...

    The start of the semester has not been the best for me. I already talked about the struggles I had the first week. The second week also started with a great deal of stress because I have an online class that I'm taking with one of my professors back at Southern and I had to double up on my work so that I would be ready for a ski trip the following week. Then, on Tuesday, I received some very devastating news.     My kitty, Darth Vader, was very sick and we had to put him down. Saying goodbye to him was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Darth has been with our family since 2007 and I can't remember a day of my life without him there. He was one of my first friends and a constant companion. He never scratched or bit, and he always wanted to be near us kids even though we were not always the gentlest.    Perhaps it may sound strange that I am talking so personally about a cat, and maybe I sound silly to be this heartbroken, but I really c...

    I've had many first holidays away from home this year, but my birthday was not one of them. In the past, I have spent many birthdays away from home or without my family. From when my dad became a pastor to when he took a job with the Dakota Conference, his yearly pastoral meetings always , without fail, happened over my birthday. So, I could either spend my birthday in the snowy Rocky Mountains at Pastor's meetings or not have my dad with me. Those were the options. Now, my birthday is always on the first week of the second semester so I celebrate early and spend my real birthday begrudgingly accepting the reality that break is over. So in that sense, spending my birthday away from home this year wasn't hard.     Other than celebrating with family, I've never done much for my birthday. I've only ever had two birthday parties; when I was ten and sixteen, and I didn't like them. Both times, there were so many people that I felt ignored and overwhelmed. Last ye...

  Now, I'm back at school. Makena and Sawyer have officially left, and I've been alone in my room for the last week. I've been taking this time to relax and recuperate from all of the hustle and bustle. I've been so busy with school, trips, and my friends that it has been a while since I took time to invest in my interests; writing, reading, and journaling, and I've enjoyed this time to reconnect with myself. I've almost finished reading two books and I'm off to a good start for my 2025 reading goal. School starts on the seventh and my new roommate is arriving on Monday from England. I'm excited, but sad that the break is almost over.   However, I can't wait to see what these next semesters have in store for me; New friendships, more knowledge, more adventures. 2024 is going to be a hard year to beat. I achieved so many goals, did and saw so many things, and met so many amazing people, I'm not really sure what can come next. This past year, so ma...