This week was full of ups and downs, including our school suffering a ransomware attack and my family coming to visit me. Continue reading all about it!
- Monday, October 11th
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After a more or less sleepless night, I woke up this morning and started my day with a workout. After the gym, I got some coffee, ate avocado toast, and headed to my first class of the day, which was interesting, to say the least. Apparently, somebody tried to hack into our school network last night, so we had no wifi and the professors couldn’t use the computers. This meant that we didn’t have lecture slides and that my professor had to use the whiteboard (like in the olden days) and talk at us the entire time. Somehow, he did it and I got through it. After class, I went to the grocery store, and then came home and cooked some chicken and zucchini, which I ate before starting on my work for CU. I also did some homework and then I got ready to go to my next class, where we again had no PowerPoint to follow and our professor just talked at us the whole hour-and-a-half. Since I had some time between that class and my next one, I walked down to my service provider’s store since my phone data wasn’t working, and I had to recharge my SIM card because apparently, being in Switzerland wiped out all the credit that I had since it’s not part of the European Union. I didn’t know this would happen beforehand, but it would have been helpful information to be aware of. As annoying as it was, I’m glad I figured it out, and now I know for future reference. I was in a bit of a rush, so I speed-walked to class, only for my professor to take attendance and tell us to leave since there still wasn’t any internet and he couldn’t really teach us without it. I walked to my apartment, did some homework, and then we went to dinner at the restaurant around the corner, which was delicious as always. I did some online shopping (but more like online window shopping) and then I showered and went to bed!
- Tuesday, October 12th
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Today is the National Day of Spain, so we didn’t have classes. I slept in a little this morning and then I went to the gym. After that, I picked up my daily cup of coffee and came home and made oatmeal. Then, I took a shower and wrote a paper for one of my classes. I had an eyebrow lamination and tint appointment in the afternoon, so I took the metro to my destination, got my eyebrows done, and headed back. Then, I worked for CU, did some more homework, and read. My roommate’s parents took us out to dinner tonight at a very nice Italian restaurant, which was so kind of them, and it was delicious. While at dinner, my professor for my architecture class sent us a message that the internet at school was still down, so he canceled class for the next day and assigned us a paper to write instead. I don’t want to write the paper, but it is what it is.
- Wednesday, October 13th
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Even though my class for the morning was canceled, I still got up and went to the gym. Then, one of my roommates and I went to a cafe to do homework, but they didn’t have wifi, so after we had our coffee and brunch, we went to a juice house to do homework instead. I was productive for a good three hours, and then we headed back to our apartment. At 3:40, it was time for Mediterranean Politics, and after, International Business. I really hope that the school internet is restored soon because the quality of education that I have been getting this week is subpar. After class, I had therapy and ate ice cream, as usual. Then I went to bed.
- Thursday, October 14th
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My body was very sore this morning and I haven’t been sleeping well recently, so this morning I slept in instead of going to the gym. The presentation that I was supposed to have last Thursday that got moved to today was moved again because of the internet situation, so I once again did not have to present in class this morning, but luckily, we were still able to go to class and have a lecture. After that, I came home and worked and did some homework as well. Then, I had my last class of the week, thank goodness. My roommate and I decided that we needed to do some shopping, so we walked to a boutique and it was the best experience ever. Honestly, I was not in a great mood until we walked into the boutique, where we spent about half an hour and so many good things happened. First, there was a dog in this boutique. It was a super playful and adorable seven-month-old Maltese puppy who reminded me so much of my dog (who unfortunately died this summer, but I will always remember). I almost cried from how cute he was. Second, I tried on a pair of pants that made my butt look so good and I absolutely had to buy them. Third, my best friend in the entire world booked tickets to come and visit me in November and I am so excited! Overall, it was a fantastic experience. After shopping, we went to get dumplings for dinner, which were so good, and then we went to get some crepes for dessert. When we got home, I finished packing for Portugal tomorrow and went to bed!
- Friday, October 15th
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I woke up at 5 a.m. today, got dressed, gathered my belongings, and took a cab to the airport for my flight to Lisbon. Once I landed, the tour guide that my mom booked for us picked me up from the airport and we went to get breakfast, which was coffee, a sandwich, and a traditional Portuguese pastry called a Pastel de Nata, which is amazing. After breakfast, the tour guide took me on a walking tour of Lisbon and it was so beautiful. I think it might be my new favorite place that I have visited while studying abroad. The tour ended at 1 p.m., at which point I checked into the apartment we were staying in and finally had some alone time, for the first time since August. I am somebody who needs their alone time, so this was so enjoyable for me. I also ended up taking a nap, and it was great but it was one of those naps where you wake up and have to remind yourself of your name and life history. I FaceTimed my best friend to catch up, and around 8 p.m., I faced a fear and took myself to a solo dinner. I ended up at an empanada place, which is always a good idea, and overall, I enjoyed the experience! I think next time I will be taking myself on a breakfast date. Anyway, after dinner, I came back to the apartment and finally started watching Season 3 of “Sex Education” and then I went to bed, sort of. I couldn’t really sleep because I was so excited for my family to come in the morning!
- Saturday, October 16th
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Today was such an amazing day. My family flew into Lisbon this morning and by 8 a.m., they were at the apartment. It was so wonderful to see them, I missed them so much. Since they were jet-lagged and I was tired from a pretty much sleepless night, we all took naps, but I woke up an hour before they did, so I went to a nearby cafe to get us pastries. We had lunch reservations at a seafood restaurant, so we went there and caught up on the last month and a half, and then we explored the city, shopped, and had lots of coffee. We rested for a little and then we went to dinner, which was so much food but it was all so good. Then we came back to the apartment and I had a girl talk with my mom, and then we all went to bed.
- Sunday, October 17th
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Today we took a day trip to Sintra, which is another coastal town in Portugal. It was foggy today so the views weren’t what we expected, but still beautiful. We went to a castle-type thing and stopped at many beaches on our drive, and we had a huge lunch at another seafood restaurant. When we got back to Lisbon, we rested for a little and we decided we weren’t hungry enough for dinner, so we went on a walk and stopped by a gelato place along the way. I had a nice conversation with my parents and then we all went to bed.
That’s it for week seven! It’s so crazy to think that I am almost at the halfway point of my study abroad. That makes me so sad, but I am so happy to be here. Come back next week for week eight!