After months of being abroad, I finally am back at Farmingdale! I have to admit, it was a culture shock to be back, especially in the Long Island area since I live in Westchester. On my first day of classes, I felt like a freshman again because I had forgotten where all of the class buildings were, and what their names were. The campus was also under construction the last time I was on campus, and this time it seems as though the construction is really moving along and even some buildings were t...

First week home! Oh man, it feels so nice to be home with my family! I actually surprised my family and came home two days earlier than they expected, and they were thrilled! I have still been pretty jet-lagged because of the time difference, but it feels great to sleep in my own bed.     It was a bit of an adjustment to be home, and back in the NY lifestyle of things. Back in London I took public transportation everywhere, and here in NY I am able to drive again which is incredib...

I truly cannot believe that my time here in London is over. When I first arrived it felt as though I had so much time to do all that I wanted to do, and the next thing I know is I am already packing my bags! Studying abroad has truly been one of the most incredible things I have ever done in my life. It opened the door to traveling to countries and cities that I never thought I would be able to see. Some of my favorite life memories have been created during my time studying abroad. I was able...

This week is my last week in London, I can't believe it! Where has time gone?! There are moments that I feel like a local and other times where I feel as though everything is still fresh and new. This upcoming week I have a lot of finals and work to be handed in which is quite tough when all I want to do is explore more, visit Christmas markers and shop of course. As a study abroad student we have to hand in all of our work before we leave, whereas the English students get to hand theirs in a...

This weekend I went to Belgium and a small country right next to it called Luxembourg. We took a 6 hour bus to Belgium from London, and got to take the underground tunnel from England to France which takes 35 minutes. After arriving to Belgium we walked to our hostel and headed straight for the Christmas markets. It got dark out by 3:30 so the lights were shining so beautifully by the time we arrived! The streets were filled with loads of people from all over the world. There were stall after...

Went to Ireland this weekend! I flew into Shannon Airport where a couple of friends from home rented a car and picked me up! We drove over and hour through the countryside to the Cliffs of Moher. When I first arrived in Ireland, the weather wasn't the greatest, in fact, it was rather cloudy and gloomy out however, when we arrived to the cliffs the skies were an incredible blue color, but it was really windy! We walked along the cliffs for a while and some parts were literally on the edge, one...

Budapest is so far my favorite trip of the semester! We had a early morning flight and arrived to Budapest that afternoon. It was easy to get from the airport to our accommodation. Once we were settled in, we were quite tired but decided to take a stroll through the neighborhood. On our walk, we realized that the entire city is full of these beautiful incredible old buildings, not many houses. We walked to Parliament, which is a massive building that has amazing architecture. After exploring tha...

This week in London, I had some of my first assignments due. Since they don't do tests every few weeks like in America, they have 1-2 major assignments throughout the semester. My first assignment was for my Brand Management class. Instead of handing your papers directly to professors, you hand them into the Universities Undergraduate Office, your professor doesn't even know if you've handed it in until the undergraduate office gives it to them! Before you hand it in you must print out a special...

Went to Germany for a long weekend! We flew to Cologne, yes, where cologne actually comes from. It is one of the most colorful towns in the world! Every other building is a different bright color with a cute shop at the bottom of the building. When we first arrived we had to take a train and subway to get to our hostel, which was right outside the city center. After getting situated, we walked into town and on our way we stopped by the many homemade German pastry shops to get a fresh pastry an...

One of the best weekends so far! On Friday, my friend and I took a Megabus (yes, they have those here too!), to a Northern England town called Chester. My friend Allie, has extended family who lives in a small town called Hawarden (pronounced Hard-en) which is 20 minutes from Chester, but is considered to be a part of Wales! It was a 6 hour bus ride, and her family friends met us at Chester station which was only another 20 minutes to their home. Their town is a super cute and small with one gas...