adventures

Jamaica, Jamaica

~ Hannah Kate ~ 2 Comments

Traveling last week to Jamaica taught me a lot about how your expectations can affect the overall outcome of a situation. I was not eager to go to Jamaica, mostly because the main purpose of my trip was to get my student visa and as anyone who has ever had to get a visa knows the process is less than fun. It’s a lot of paperwork before you travel and then waiting at the embassy and a steady stream of stress throughout. I was planning on waiting for my visa, so I was in Jamaica from Monday to Friday. 

Now wanting to make the best of the situation, I went to the bookstore the weekend before and picked up two books, which I intended to finish during my trip (spoiler alert: I did). However, my grandma, who was accompanying me, informed me that we would be doing something every day. I’m honestly grateful that we ended up doing something every day because as cliché as it sounds life is short and it’s important to make the most of every moment. 

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Mad about Madrid

~ Hannah Kate ~ Leave a comment

I kept forgetting that I was going to Madrid, which is understandable since my friend and I put our trip together in less than 24 hours. I really wanted to travel somewhere during my spring break, but didn’t have anyone to go with. I was talking with my friend and she mentioned she had a few days free and wanted to go to Spain, and I said, “Well, I would love to go to Spain.” And by midnight that same night we had plane tickets and an Airbnb booked. I was going to Spain! 

Honestly, one of the best parts about studying abroad is the opportunity to travel: you can take a plane for an hour and a half and you will be in a new country with a different language and culture. 

I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do once I was in Madrid, but knew I needed some sort of plan since I was only going to be there for two full days. I did a quick Google search of “Top 10 Things to Do in Madrid” and found a few things that really caught my attention. 

So without further ado here’s what I did and ate in Madrid…  Continue reading →

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

~ Hannah Kate ~ Leave a comment

Along with this blog, I am also chronicling my adventures in Paris on the official blog of my study abroad program.

For my first post I discussed some ways to save money as a student in Paris and also a few of the places I visited, here’s the opening paragraph:

One of the great things you always hear about Europe is that if you are a student you can receive discounts almost anywhere. In my experience so far, I can confirm that this is fairly accurate as many places offer significant deductions in price. I would recommend checking with your host university to see if they have agreements with any local businesses about discounts.

Intrigued? You can read the entire post by clicking here.