Spain II: Madrid and Valencia
July 6 – 18th 鈥溌縌u茅 tal vlogueros?鈥� That means 鈥渨hat鈥檚 up vloggers?鈥� in Spanish! It鈥檚 only one of many new words in my vocabulary.聽 We鈥檝e been here in Spain for two weeks now. Today marks the halfway point in our trip. So let鈥檚 review it, shall we?聽 Madrid We got to Madrid on Thursday, July....
糖心Vlog in Ghana
June 24, 2022 糖心Vlog in Ghana 聽Monday: Monday was our first official full day in Ghana. We started off the day around 8 in the morning and had our first couple of lectures at the University of Ghana. The focus today was on the slave trade (from an African perspective) and religion and human rights.....
Final Reflections: Pilgrimage, Free Travel, Asturias, and what鈥檚 to come
June 23 Luke, Laura, Ben, Jacob, Kate 24 hours from the time of writing, our group will be scattering: some of us will be camping out for a night in the airport before connecting flights, some will already be exploring other countries or continuing to explore Madrid, and some will be unloading our baggage....
Valencia: remembering Madrid, activities, host families and classes
June 4 Putting down roots in Valencia鈥攇etting to know the city and its opportunities, our host families, and Taronja, our school鈥攈as greatly enriched these past few weeks. As we face our last week here, we wanted to share reflections on past moments, enjoyable activities, those who have been kind enough to open their homes to....
Spain 2022
Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, Valencia (families and school) May 24 At the time of writing, we have been in Spain exactly two weeks鈥攖wo weeks ago to the hour, we were en route to the airport, trying to imagine how we would navigate the next month and a half in new cities, a new culture, and....
Guatemala: Weekend trips, Halfway Mark & Hope
Guatemala: Weekend Trips, Halfway Mark, & Hope With March upon us, it鈥檚 clear that time is flying by. While some days may seem long, the weeks truly are short. As we continue to attend the final days of Spanish classes during the week, the weekends serve as memorable and educational getaways, full of learning opportunities....
Guatemala Immersion
Now that we鈥檝e passed the 1-month mark, settled into host families and Spanish classes, figured out the public transport system, gotten comfortable with our surroundings, etc., we鈥檝e realized that we鈥檙e here to stay for a little while. The honeymoon phase is a thing of the past and some days feel harder than others. Some days....
One Month in Chiang Mai
In Journal Snippets -Kate Szambecki September 18, 2021 I am currently sitting at the laundromat. It鈥檚 outside (covered) and you must take your shoes off. It鈥檚 very nice. We flew to Bangkok, then Chiang Mai, and were greeted by YMCA staff and university interns, and drove to the YMCA. I napped, we ate, then went....
Quarantine on Phuket
Posted 14 September 2021 Today, we arrived in Phuket, and I write this as I hungrily wait for dinner. I am looking forward to sleeping in a bed because we had about 38 hours of travel. Driving through Phuket felt surreal. There were pineapple stands and little shops and so many people on motorcycles. I....
On Leaving Guatemala
3.31.20 鈥淲hat does it mean to pack up your bags and go somewhere new? To leave family, friends, school, your way of living鈥� and just restart in a new place, a new country perhaps? Well, these were my thoughts when we first left the United States in January, and I had similar feelings as we....