Ben Rachel is a columnist for the features section of the Daily. He is a senior studying economics and computer science, and can be reached at benjamin.rachel@tufts.edu.
Every single semester for the past three and a half years, I have gotten sick. Without fail. No matter how manyEmergen-C packets I drink in the morning or zinc pills I pop, the black plague eventually gets me.
I work at the Career Center. My job title is career fellow, and we essentially act as representatives for the center to promote its resources and events. It’s a great job.
The situation I am in while writing my last first column is interesting. I’m currently writing in the car with my family, on our way back from dropping my sister off at Dartmouth. A young freshman. Yesterday, my family helped me move into my senior, off-campus house. I bet you can deduce which move-in was more taxing…
Well, here we are once again. My final publication of the school year. Wow.
I have been on a lot of airplanes over these past few months. As someone who has a goal of traveling to as many new places as possible, flying has almost become a weekly routine. This is all very ironic considering that I despise airports and airplanes in general. Let’s just say my time studying abroad has only affirmed my dislike. F--- you, Ryanair.
I’ve met so many people here in Barcelona. I’ve made friends with people as close as UMass Amherst and as far as the Netherlands. And while it is amazing to meet all of these people, I miss the people at Tufts. I miss my Jumbo community.
A week or two ago, my host parents had a few guests over for dinner. They were family friends from Amsterdam: very interesting, opinionated and not afraid to tell a story. My host parents wanted my housemate and I there to act as jesters. We were to be the entertainment for dinner.
Sonder: the feeling one gets upon realizing that every other individual has a life as full and real as one’s own, in which they are the central character and others have secondary or insignificant roles.
My initial idea for this publication was going to be me complaining about the heinous weather out here in Barcelona. I’ve been here for a month now and it’s only been over 60 degrees, like, five times! It’s been getting pretty cold, with last night dropping to the high 40s. I’m not sure what it’s like back at Tufts, but I bet it’s better than here!
For those who are wondering if I’m still alive, I can confidently say I think I am. I’m going on my third full week in Barcelona, and my stats have been pretty crazy: 10 nights out past 3 a.m., 50 bocadillos, 100 cafés sin leche, 574 Google Maps searches and one Instagram post (on my spam, because I’m still thinking up a caption for my real account).
