One way I’ve stayed connected with my family and friends while living in Copenhagen has been shared albums. Early on, I spent a lot of time sending pictures and descriptions of what I’d been doing to parents, grandparents, friends, and my sister. Now, once every one or two weeks, I go through all the photos I’ve taken and add a few to that album. I also leave comments describing each of them.
This has been a great tool for two reasons! Obviously it’s much more efficient. I can give insight into my study abroad experiences to all the important people in my life at the same time — nice! A more unexpected reward has been the way it’s helped me reflect on my experience. It’s been really great to (in addition to this blog!) set aside time and go back through what I’ve been doing and what it’s meant to me.
I just made a new shared album for the photos I took on my vacation during Travel Week 1, and I thought I’d share some of those photos and captions here. I’ll caption them pretty much as I would in the shared album. I hope you enjoy! 🙂
Day 1: Annecy with Isaiah [lifelong best friend] and his study abroad friends — Taheer, Grace, and Reagan.Day 2: Made it to Isaiah’s homestay in Grenoble and went for a hike up one of mountains surrounding the city. We were rewarded with this stunning view!Day 3: Exploring Grenoble and its museums, and I found this Matisse I absolutely adore.Day 4: Went up the Bastille, and old fort in Grenoble, for some amazing views of the city with Isaiah.Day 5: Enjoying a half-day in Marseille en route to Istanbul and I finally had a French crepe. Changed my life.Day 6: Turns out there’s no line to see inside the Hagia Sophia at night… and the lighting is that much more stunning.Day 7: This is the main chamber in the old Ottoman Topkapı Palace Harem. It’s alright I guess.Day 8: You can’t make this up. I found out TODAY that Carole [a Swiss student who lived with my family six years ago] was ALSO in Istanbul. So we saw each other for the first time in five years. Here we’re enjoying the Istanbul Spice Market, and still reeling from this coincidence.Day 9: Today was my favorite day. I explored the old Jewish Quarters in Balat and experienced some of the best food, tea, coffee, and conversation with locals of my whole trip.
