You can’t do Paris without a museum, or two, or ten — it’s unthinkable. If you're visiting the City of Light for the first time, by all means, flit from the Louvre to D’Orsay; climb la Tour Eiffel and l’Arc de Triomphe; visit Notre Dame and Sacré Coeur. After that, here’s my pearl of wisdom learned from experience: you’ll have more fun and better memories of Paris, or wherever you go, if you dig deep into the culture.

My adventure in Paris was four months of uncharted exploration. I didn’t have guidebooks or tour guides. Every day that I could, I ventured out with only my camera to take pictures, and my map and métro ticket to get me back at the end of the day. I discovered the most charming and pittoresque places by taking “wrong” turns. There’s more to Paris than the puddle iron tower. There’s an incredible culture, and even during a short vacation, it’s easy to discover. Here are my tested suggestions of things to do in Paris:

But here are some other places you might be interested in (Be warned, Madrid is a walking city. You can take the Metro to places, but then you will have to exit the station and walk at least a half-mile to your destination.):

1. Mezcalito: A small Mexican cafe/restaurant located very close to the center of town. The Mexican food, while nothing compared to the United States, is one of the better Mexican places you will find in Zaragoza. If you are in the Plaza de Aragon, go down Calle Canfranc, take a right onto Calle Ponzano and then turn right at the first street, it will be right there on the right.

I have been here for a week now, and every morning I still wake up confused from my night’s dream in Spanish. I wake up and think I am going to hear my host mom open my door saying “ Jennnnnaaa, desayunoooo (Jenna, breakfast).” Instead I find myself waking up to no one, and a room filled with all my unpacked things. I have no interest in unpacking, I think once I am unpacked and organized I will know that I am definitely not returning. Right now, I have left one bag packed, just in case...

Unfortunately it’s impossible to return until I make some money and finish my schooling, so I will have to get used to this culture shock feeling. I need to stop saying “permiso” when walking through a crowd, or in a restaurant, “ tiene salsa de tomate (do you have any ketchup?),” or carrying a role of toilet paper around in my purse (bathrooms never had toilet paper) or saying “gracias (thank you)” and “buenas dias/buenas tardes or buenas noches (good morning, good afternoon and good evening).”

I need especially to stop speaking Spanish when I am drunk. I went to visit my college and after a couple drinks at the bar, I was on the hunt for anyone that looked even slightly Latino that I could speak with. When I went to the bathroom there was a woman who looked to be of Latino descent cleaning the restroom, and upon seeing her I proceeded to give her the traditional kiss greeting and start talking to her in Spanish. Bad idea. She definitely did not speak Spanish, and was in fact rather offended. This did not stop me though. I continued my hunt and I found a Portugese boy and started going off in excitement thinking he could understand me, then found out Portugese and Spanish really are not that similar. So I then decided it was a great idea to speak Spanish to my Croatian boyfriend, so we continued the rest of the night speaking two very distinct languages and not understanding each other at all, but somehow I felt a lot better, even though I knew he couldn’t understand me.

I know I will continue to have a lot of adjustment problems, especially with the prices of food and the rules and regulations here in the U.S., but I am happy to be home. Things in Ecuador and in the U.S. are certainly different, especially for me and the rest of abroad students. Abroad is not reality, we have to remember this. Studying abroad is the dream life, most of us did not work, we just traveled, learned, and enjoyed life in another culture. I know the hardest part for me is coming back to obligations; I have to train for soccer, I have bills to pay, gas to pay for, and actually study when school begins.

Our lives abroad were without obligations and worries, and now we are here with them, which rightfully make us resent the U.S. Remember, this is our home county until we become citizens of another, so love and respect the things that we take for granted here. Also, it helps me to think that working and getting through school makes me one step closer to returning to South America. All those planning on returning to your host country, just work hard for now, then play time comes later. All those returning for another semester or to live, you are lucky, just don’t forget us!:)

Some quick words of advice for the next group of bloggers. Listen to Sheila, write often but small. I did the complete opposite and hardly ever wrote. Maybe keep a journal outside of the blogs where you can write down activities and emotions when they happen. I kept a journal and wrote everyday in the beginning, but then towards the end I hardly ever wrote. Try to keep it up, you will thank yourselves later. Also, remember that people really want to feel and be able to envision where you are and what your life is like, so try to think of the small details and daily events that make your country so unique.

Good luck to all those planning on studying abroad, it really is the experience of a lifetime and WELCOME HOME to all those who have returned!

When my parents came to visit, I wanted to show them around the city, so I took them to art museums and we went on a bus tour of the city. But one day, we wanted to do something new and unusual. So, we went to the Madrid Zoo and Aquarium at Batan, in the middle of the Casa de Campo.

Pantelis Melissinos – “artist, playwright, composer, set and costume designer”– operates Melissinos Art: The Poet Sandalmaker shop where the Beatles, Jackie Onassis, Gary Cooper and Sophia Loren have flocked to for the inexpensive (21 euros, $26), comfortable and stylish leather sandals.

Last week I visited fellow blogger Lauren there and we were joined by her mother and her friend. The bus system isn’t reliable and frequent, so the best way to see the island was to rent a car. Since automatics are rare and more expensive, we rented a small standard and I chauffeured us around the island for the week.

At first I was ecstatic to get in the driver’s seat for the first time since coming to Europe, but then I held a death grip on the steering wheel when I realized that motorists in Rhodes drive like the worst from Rhode Island and New Jersey.

I guess I should start off my story with a short description of Semana Santa (Holy Week). Semana Santa starts on Palm Sunday and lasts until Easter Sunday. The week is filled with processions led by what are called Nazarenos -- people dressed in a robe and a hat that covers the face (to hide the identity of the "sinner seeking forgiveness). In reality, these people scare me as they look very much like members of the KKK.

Here is a picture (photo from www.exploreseville.com).

The processions take place throughout Spain, but the most famous of these is in Seville, where millions of people come to see the festivities every year. Unfortunately I was unable to see one, but I was lucky enough to celebrate Easter in Germany and Palm Sunday in Barcelona.

Being in an all-American school in Zaragoza, I never get the opportunity to be truly immersed in the language and the culture. I finally got my first chance in an opportunity offered by my school and I was lucky enough to get this opportunity in one of the most interesting cities in Spain: Sevilla.

The 5 Days in Sevilla program consists of 3 days of school and a weekend in Sevilla all while living with a new host family.