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G’Day Everyone!

It’s week 8 here for me in the Land Down Under and we’re half way through the semester at UNSW, which is crazy to think about.  Since we’re in the middle of midterms, I haven’t done too many travels and have kept my adventures to a lot of local places.  One of my more recent trips was actually for my Marine Environment class.  We got to go on a field trip to the beach and did a lab on wave patterns and rip currents.  It was cool because we were able to learn about the local beaches and could see for ourselves how to relate what we were learning in the classroom to the local environment.  

I’ve also had the opportunity to go on a day trip to a remote beach through my IFSA-Butler program.  They took us to Palm Beach, where we got to explore the local town, do some stand up paddle boarding, and some hiking.  It was great because we got to go on a free trip and see a new area of Sydney.

It’s a little crazy with midterm exams here, but hope you all are doing great back in the ‘burg.  Miss you all!

Allison Mascioli

Buonasera!

I have officially completed my first week of classes here in Florence. Instead of taking four classes like at Bucknell, I am taking five. They include Art History, Italian, Mediterranean Food & Culture, Economics of European Integration, and Sustainable Urbanism in Europe. On Mondays and Wednesdays I have class from 9-6pm and 9-3pm, respectively. However, I only have one class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which allows me to get work done and explore the city. I also don’t have classes on Fridays!

My art history class has already gone on a site visit! This means that instead of sitting in a classroom, we get to go into the city center and learn about the art/architecture as we are standing right in front of it. Yesterday we walked around the Piazza di Signoria and learned about how/why it was formed. In the 12th and 13th centuries, there was a struggle for power between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor. The two factions that emerged in Florence were the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. The Guelphs destroyed homes of the Ghibellines and left it as open space to remind people of what would happen if they rebelled against the Papacy. This is the piazza where the Palazzo Vecchio is, which is basically Florence’s town hall and has been a symbol of power for hundreds of years. Today it is a museum (I haven’t been inside yet).

I have some fun and interesting trips coming up so stay tuned.

-Steph Larkin

Hola from quite possibly the hottest place in the world right now!

For the past three days it has been 100 degrees or higher here. I am in a constant state of sweat and dirt from the city. I wish I could take about five showers a day, but alas, energy and water are very expensive here in Europe. My host mom said this is the hottest she’s ever experienced in September in Granada.

Besides the extreme heat, things are going well here! I’ve started my classes and met some really cool people. I go to an intensive Spanish class from 9am-1pm every day. It’s kind of boring and long, but I’m definitely learning a lot. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I also have class from 5pm-6:30pm with Professor Blanco and my group from Bucknell.

I’ve joined the gym here too! The weight section is super intimidating because there are just Spanish meatheads lifting, and they all just stare at me. Also, the weights are in kg (obviously), so I have to do a lot of converting. I’ve found that my comfort zone is on the erg (go figure). Even though the machine is in Spanish, watts are exactly the same as in the US.

One thing I’ve discovered here is that Netflix has SO MANY GOOD MOVIES. Seriously, study abroad just to watch Netflix here. I don’t have a ton of time to watch movies, but sometimes I do while doing easy grammar homework or before bed if I don’t go somewhere with my friends.

Finally, this week we went to the Alhambra (castle) and Generalife (gardens). I liked the castle a lot, but the gardens were breathtaking and definitely my favorite. I highly suggest visiting if you ever have a chance(or looking up pictures!!).

Feel free to follow me on instagram (bixby19) or friend me on Facebook for pictures! (@ the recruits).
That’s it for now from Spain! Hasta luego!!