I haven't written recently because I've been in New Zealand for semester break. It was a very odd time for a break because now that I'm back I only have three weeks of classes left. Which means only three of each class left, how weird!? Somehow I lucked out and don't have any finals during the scheduled finals week. So once classes are over I have two weeks in Australia to do whatever I want. It's so hard to believe this semester is coming to an end. I shouldn't jump the gun too much because I still have a lot due in these next three weeks.

So last Friday my roommate, Amanda, and I left the Sydney airport and flew into Wellington, New Zealand. Wellington is a city on the southern end of the north island. We had no plans or schedule beyond our flight into Wellington and our flight out of Christchurch, which is on the south island. We knew at some point we'd need to take a ferry between the two islands. This was the first time I've ever gone on a trip without a plan or a schedule. In fact, it was the first time I've been out of the country and not taken classes or studied. So it actually felt like a vacation. And what better place to have a week vacation?

I began my semester abroad about two weeks ago when I arrived here in London for my orientation with Arcadia, the university which is coordinating my semester here. During orientation, I was able to meet loads of interesting people from throughout the U.S. and around the world. We were able to prowl around the city, speak with members from the U.K. Parliament and the House of Lords (more on that later), visit museums, take lots of photos (most of which I will share with you) and meet up with relatives and friends who live in the city.

Here is a short video I took from atop an iconic London double decker bus near my flat.

Enjoy!!!

At SOAS, I am taking four classes as required per my study abroad program.

I read that graffiti on the side of the tiny shacks in a shantytown we passed. The fancy coach bus tour guide was saying how the township was established in the 1960s. I went to Khayelitsha township to see the poverty of half a million. It should never have happened. Apartheid just ended in 1990, but the poverty that the oppression caused is still alive.

I just had my fall break last week. It consisted of five days and four nights throughout several cities in Spain. Along with the Bucknell en España, I visited Segovia, Avila, Salamanca, Madrid and Toledo. All 14 students in the program came along as well as Fatima, Professor Delgado and a couple of parents.

I arrived in Madrid early on Oct. 3. It was our longest visit with the Bucknell en España program. I spent two nights there, giving me lots of free time to explore the city. Madrid reminded me a lot of New York City. The streets were always full of people and everywhere you looked there were things to explore. There were lots of theaters, fashion stores and restaurants.

London is home to many majestic and tranquil parks that are located all around the city, creating a well needed escape from the bustle that is more commonly associated with this busy capital. Hyde Park, one of the largest in the city, has a very vast open area with long sidewalks crisscrossing it, very similar to the Academic Quad at Bucknell. It also has a very large (manmade, I assume) pond (or mini-lake) called the Serpentine.

We finally slept in proper beds the third night of our trip. It was much needed, too, because we spent the whole next day in Wellington walking around. Well, first we had the breakfast of champions ...coffee and pizza. We went back to the museum to check out the other floors, we checked out the parliament building, the railway station and then slowly made our way back to our hostel by walking along the water. It was an exhausting day, but very productive and I felt like I really got to know the town. The next day we had to catch a ferry to go from the north island to the south island, so we called it an early night since we had to be on the ferry at 7:30.

I went to India, and I didn't see the Taj. I didn't see Gandhi's house or tall buildings, and I didn't stay in a nice five star hotel.

When I got back on the ship, I didn't really know what to say, or how to say anything.

The more I wanted to talk about how I felt, the worse a job I felt I did doing so. The more I tried to say, the less of an impact I felt I made saying anything.

How can I describe how happy the conversations, questions, and smiles made me feel? How can I describe what it was like to feel part of a family after only an hour?

Everyone I waved and smiled at smiled and waved back at me. They were lovely.

It's Oct. 20, 2008, and I'm on my last week of classes. I don't think I've ever been able to say this before. The concept is hard to grasp, but I'm still struck with the same feeling I always get in my last week of classes. I have about one project or paper due in each class and as soon as I finish those assignments I'm done. So you would think I'd try and get them done as soon as possible, but for some reason it never works like this. I think I'm overwhelmed by the idea that I'm almost done, so every time I sit down to finish this work, I get distracted and start thinking about the fact that the semester is over. Then I reflect on the past few months and think about everything I've accomplished, and this particular semester I've done a lot more, personal and academic activities that I don't normally do in an ordinary semester. For instance, I spent this past weekend in vineyards sampling the wine of Australia and then on a boat searching the ocean for humpback whales.

This semester, I am studying abroad in Paris through New York University. NYU in Paris is not an approved program at Bucknell and I had to jump through hoops of fire to get here, but in retrospect, all of my hard work was totally worth it.

(As always, click on a picture to see the full-size image)

It's been a while since I've written. Univeristy life has really gotten into full swing! I have a surprisingly large amount of homework, but I think my French has improved vastly. However, the better I get, the more I realize how much I have left to learn. It's an up and down process. Our professors tell us to be daring, to fight the instinct to be shy and quiet. Of course, this is easier said than done and although many French people are patient with and interested in foreigners, many, and particularly waiters at restaurants, are not. I hate it when French people speak English to me, too, and I always have the urge to inform them that I'm not just a tourist. I'm a semi-permanent resident and a student of the French language! Maybe if I told that to the waiters, they'd be more patient with me ... but probably not.

I'm not sure the best writer in the world could do my recent trip justice. This past weekend I went to the Killary Adventure center in Connamara.

We were told to bring a lot of clothes, extra towels and warm layers. They made it sound like we were going to be dragged through the mud in the rain. We found out later that this was not an exaggeration.