From Morocco to Maryland: avoiding post-study abroad blues
There’s a city in Morocco known for being painted a very particular shade of blue. High up in the Rif Mountains, Chefchaouen’s pale blue walls seem to reflect its very place in the sky.
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There’s a city in Morocco known for being painted a very particular shade of blue. High up in the Rif Mountains, Chefchaouen’s pale blue walls seem to reflect its very place in the sky.
The first time I visited Paris, my aunt told me that there is something about the color of of the Paris sky at dusk that attracts writers, painters, and all manner of artists to make it their home. Paris was the first European city I visited, and I didn’t think much of my aunt’s comment at the time. But as I started to travel more while studying abroad, again and again I found myself drawn back to that first visit to Europe. There’s just something about Paris. Some people don’t have that same attraction to the language, to the food, to the color of the Seine on a crisp day in October. But for those who do, Paris takes hold, and for good reason. Here are a few.
When one of my best friends at Hopkins asked me, “How do you feel about Croatia for spring break?” I hesitated. Croatia? Why not Greece, or that Eastern Europe trip I’d been dreaming up for years? I knew next to nothing about Croatia. Dubrovnik sounded familiar, but even deciding which airport to fly into Croatia, seemed like a complex puzzle. Then, as I began to research Croatia, the mesmerizing images of waterfalls, old Roman walls, and cerulean blue waters of the Adriatic drew me closer and closer to its sea-lined borders. When suddenly it seemed as if the trip might not happen after all, I was crushed. I didn’t want Greece; I didn’t want Prague. I wanted Croatia. And against all odds, Spring Break 2014, Croatia, happened.
There’s a certain time of the night when Puerta del Sol, located at the heart of Madrid, truly earns its name. On summer days in Sol you can see the last glimmer of the sun flicker through the red-roofed buildings, tracing people’s shadows as they make their way up Calle Montera to Gran Vía, Chueca, and Malasaña, or down Calle Correo to La Latina and Lavapíes. In the early winter, the plaza brims with mechanical light as people meet up under the golden metallic Christmas tree, exchanging the typical double kiss. Like the sun it’s named for, everything orbits around “Sol,” the soul and centerpiece of Madrid.
On All Saint’s Day in 1755, a huge earthquake struck Lisbon, destroying nearly every church in the city. The earthquake, which wiped out an estimated one-quarter of the population, not only destroyed a large part of the city but also greatly damaged the future of the colonial empire.
Each year, for a weekend in the middle of September, Barcelona hosts the festival of “La Mercé.” Somewhat unintentionally, I found myself in Barcelona in the midst of the festival, smack dab in the center of the plaza of Sant Jaume.
Confession: I may or may not have an addiction to postcards. This is probably a symptom of what many study abroad students find themselves suffering from, a condition that can only be described as “wanderlust.” The symptoms range in severity. There’s the constant stalking of the BuzzFeed travel section, the entire shelf devoted to travel books, a list of 206 different bookmarked places to research, an ever-increasing list of trips on the horizon and a quite unhappy credit card courtesy of your new best friends: Kayak and hostelworld.com. Oh yeah, and then there’s that pesky addiction to postcards.
He’s baaaack. After teaching the American public that both Friday and Thanksgiving are really, really awesome, singer and songwriter Patrice Wilson has now brought us a song, performed by Alison Gold, that’s all about Chinese food! Cue the gaggle of tweens listing things that they like about Friday/Thanksgiving/Chinese food and having parties about Friday/Thanksgiving/Chinese food. Enter Patrice Wilson in a weird costume as he randomly hangs out with these girls without their parents there.
Dear BuzzFeed,
Five minutes into the game against Maryland, the score was tied 0-0. Senior midfielder John Ranagan grabbed a 25-yard pass from his teammate, senior goalie Pierce Bassett, pushed his way to the goal and sunk it into the net to give the Jays the lead, 1-0. Two minutes later, the cage rattled again as Ranagan pulled out another goal.
Clearly we all need a little more Facebook in our lives.
“This is how it all starts: with your mother calling you into the bathroom. You will remember what you were doing at that precise moment for the rest of your life: You were reading Watership Down and the rabbits and their does were making their dash for the boat and you didn’t want to stop reading, the book has to go back to your brother tomorrow, but then she called you again, louder, her I’m-not-f***ing-around voice, and you mumbled irritably, Si, senora. She was standing in front of the medicine cabinet mirror, naked from the waist up, her bra slung about her waist like a torn sail, the scar on her back as vast and inconsolable as a sea. You want to return to your book, to pretend you didn’t hear her, but it is too late. Her eyes meet yours, the same big smoky eyes you will have in the future. Ven aca, she commanded. She is frowning at something on one of her breasts.”
Then: Whenever anyone asked me if I ever felt unsafe living in Baltimore, I replied honestly, No.
In honor of Valentine’s Day (or in spite of it) there’s a dessert that needs to be tried: Baklava cheesecake.
In the crowded third floor of the Jim Rouse Visionary Center at the Visionary Art Museum of Baltimore on Jan. 17, the creator of PostSecret introduced himself and his mission: “My name is Frank Warren and I collect secrets.”
It’s sixty degrees out and you have a chem lab final tomorrow. The weather outside is frightfully warm and the only delightful fire is the upcoming bonfire that you’re planning to burn every paper, lab or test you ever had the displeasure of meeting this semester.
The stage curtain opens and the sweeping Russian masterpiece that is Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina begins.
Students For Environmental Action (SEA) hosted a viewing of the documentary Gasland and panel discussion this past Monday, Nov. 12, in order to raise awareness about fracking in Maryland and to help students understand its environmental effects.
Joining the ranks of other female British vocalists like Adele and Florence & the Machine, Ellie Goulding is making headlines with her sophomore album Halcyon. Goulding, most well known for her hit single, “Lights,” has gained an ever-growing presence in the United States after first achieving success in the United Kingdom. In 2011, she performed “Lights” at a variety of significant venues, including Buckingham Palace for the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, as well as the White House for the national tree lighting. The song and album did well on the charts and radio, becoming a summer 2012 classic in the United States. The album’s success continued on into October, leading to high expectations for Goulding’s second album.
English indie folk band Mumford & Sons launched into the popular music scene at the 2011 Grammy Awards when they performed alongside folk legend Bob Dylan. The band was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Rock Song for “Little Lion Man.” “The Cave” became an instant hit, and their album, Sigh No More went on to be one of the year’s most popular records.