One of the obvious perks of studying abroad is the opportunity to see and experiences new places, seemingly almost every weekend. I’ve been able to go from Helsinki to numerous cities Europe in no less than a short plane ride or trip across the Baltic on the ferry. When thinking about writing this blog, I don’t even really know where to begin. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit some amazing cities, each so unique, and to pick one that was my “favorite” just doesn’t seem fair. In less than four months time I have been able to visit Stockholm, Oslo, Copenhagen, Tallin, St. Petersburg, and Dublin. This incredible list is in addition to the time I have spent exploring Helsinki and Finland, including a weekend escape with some friends to a cabin in the scenic Koli National Park, about a six hour drive north and east of Helsinki. Seeing this list in front of me, really puts it into perspective how fortunate I have been to not only study abroad, but travel and see new places I never even imagined I would get to visit (especially looking at you St. Petersburg, Russia).
Now, it may sound cheesy, but what sets some of these trips apart from the others is not the cities, but the people I was able to share the experience with. Even though I’ve lived away from home for a few years now, being a sea apart from my family, is a little different than the short drive I am used to back at Northeastern. So being joined by my parents on two of the trips really helped curb some homesickness and make the experience all that more memorable.
Early on in the term I traveled to Stockholm to run a half marathon, because what better way to tour a city than running through the streets with 20,000 other people?! My dad was able to clear his calendar and take the trip across the pond to spend the weekend being a tourist with me and watch me run. He even hopped on the course and ran a few meters to get in better position to take pictures as I was in the final push for the finish line. To round out an amazing weekend in Stockholm, we decided to take a trip over to Oslo.
Shortly thereafter, I traveled to Copenhagen to run yet another half marathon and see another beautiful city. While out for a morning run around Copenhagen’s famous lakes, I literally ran into a friend I went to highschool with who happened to be spending the term abroad there. We both did a crazy double-take, thinking there was no way we would ever see someone we went to highschool with while out for a run in Copenhagen of all places. Thanks to the freaky coincidence, we were able to plan to meet up a few days later after my race for a celebratory lunch and to catch up on all that led to us crossing paths.
Dublin was the big trip I had penciled in weeks before leaving for Finland. My family has some deep Irish roots, and having never traveled there, I figured Dublin would be the perfect city to try conquer running a marathon in (if you haven’t noticed, there’s a theme here…)! Everything lined up perfectly: there was a marathon at the end of October, right when I had a week’s break from class, so I could take an extended trip. The cherry on top: I was joined by my mother! From touring Dublin, to visiting the Galaway Coast, and to the celebratory pints of Guinness after crossing the finish line, I’m so fortunate to have been able to share it all with my mom.
It feels like a disservice to the great cities I’ve been able to visit and the great people I’ve been able to share those experiences with, to end this blog here. I could write on and on, talking about every little detail, but there simply isn’t enough space in this blog to capture all the amazing memories I now have from truly trying to make the most of my time abroad
