It’s April in Germany and it seems summer is fast approaching. This past week has been nothing but T-Shirt weather, which makes me possibly the happiest person on the planet. The flowers are in full bloom, and the leaves are finally beginning to return.
Despite being in Europe, I have recently started a new internship in Kentucky, working for a start up company who actually emerged from the UofL entrepreneurship program – US Chia. March has been slow in terms of classes, because many of the students have this time off to work on their thesis. This has meant I needed to fill my time with other projects, so I decided why not make an internship while I study abroad? I have been mainly writing blog posts related to all the benefits of chia, and have thoroughly been enjoying the productive feeling. (I also highly suggest looking more into integrating Chia into your diet – it is quite the super food as I have found out!)
On another note, this large chunk of free time has afforded me the ability to do some extensive traveling. During March, I was able to visit Scotland, Portugal, and France. I was extremely luck with the weather in Scotland; it was sunny and gorgeous all three days I was there. I checked out the famous town of St. Andrews (where William and Kate went to school), and sampled the Black Pudding (can’t say I cared for it).
Portugal was just wonderful, and the people there are amazingly friendly; however I have been in Germany for the past 6 months, so anyone who smiles at you is friendly. That’s just a little joke though – the German people are actually on average much nicer than people make them out to be. Anyway, in Portugal we enjoyed 2 full days out on the beach getting tanned and learning to surf – well, trying to surf. I had some fantastic meals, and I was able to meet up with some of my Portuguese friends I made last semester, which was a real bonus. But if ever visit Portugal, make sure you check out the palaces in Sintra – the closest thing to paradise I have ever experienced.
France was also quite enjoyable although the weather was much colder. I am fortunate enough to have distant family member who own a horse farm/bed and breakfast in a tiny, rural village near Bordeaux. If you know me, you know I am a weird horse girl at heart, so it was great to get some much-needed horsey time. The first day we went on a five and a half hour trail ride, which my body was inadequately prepared to handle. Funny how much more difficult things are when you have had 6 months off from riding or really exercise in general. My body has recovered and it was wonderful to reconnect with my French family, although I was reminded of how it feels to not understand what people are saying. I need to learn some more French I guess…
Next week I have to get back to the grind of classes, but I guess that is what I am here for after all. That’s all for now, until the next time!
Claire