Starting out April?in Venice, I am feeling very fortunate to have completed all of my required courses in the first half of the semester here, and with finals being finally over I am now free to do what I want. Traveling is obviously at the top of my list, but my wallet has other ideas. I have spent countless hours relaxing in Venice, and exploring our small island. The search for an internship continues, and lots of days are devoted to applying endlessly to companies back home, who are not always fond of offering an online/phone interview in substitute of the real thing. My roommate and I traveled to Dublin, Ireland for a few days and were able to go on a Guinness Brewhouse tour, and see a lot of the city which closely resembled home. It was also a very nice change to be in a city where English is spoken so commonly, directions were easy to find and understand, and ordering at restaurants was also much easier. Katie, my roommate, has a plethora of TAMU friends studying abroad all over Europe, and we got to meet up with some of them in Ireland for dinner and to explore the city. It was very cool to have these connections, and it would be my advice to anyone wanting to study abroad to possibly ask your friends and plan on doing the same semester so that you would have someone to meet up in cities with.
As the weather is warming up into April, the tourists are pouring in. The streets, trains, ferries, and restaurants are becoming packed almost all of the time. Ironically, I do not consider myself a tourist anymore since I now have a weekly schedule and go grocery shopping more than eating out. The best times of day to go out are during the very early morning when those visiting are still sleeping, or during the mid-afternoon when shop keepers and businesses take a break to eat and go home to see their families. Venice has a multitude of small hidden gems that I have been able to explore more since finishing classes. My favorite find thus far has been the marketplace near the edge of the Rialto bridge, it is open every week Tuesday-Saturday and barges begin arriving at early dawn to deliver fish and vegetables. The locals often suggest not ordering fish on Mondays at restaurants as it is unlikely to be fresh. I usually buy groceries, but sometimes it is enjoyable to just go and watch the hustle and the bargaining over goods.