I spent the last five months studying in and traveling around Europe. My experiences completely changed how I think about who I am, my relationships with my friends, and who I want to become. Here’s how a new me came to be:

On Motive

Computer Science & Mathematics are Hard

Setting the scene, I’m a rising senior at Purdue working towards a double major in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence with a minor in Mathematics. Not the easiest set of degrees to get, but I knew what I was getting into. Even with this expectation I was absolutely slammed by the class load, especially since I pushed myself ahead a semester in some classes. I took the infamously hard combo of CS 252 Systems Programming, CS 381 Analysis of Algorithms, and CS 373 Machine Learning all in Spring 2024 alongside my ongoing research (which will get its own future blog post once it’s done). One of my best friends John was one of the only reasons I got through that semester relatively unscathed, working together with him to midnight many, many nights through the semester. Needless to say, computer science can and will kick your ass in certain places, but you will learn a ton if you stick with the program.

That’s not to say I’ve had a bad time at Purdue, quite the opposite! I’ve made so many incredible friends there (some of whom I also ran into abroad) and joined what I think is the best creative-technical club in the country, Purdue Hackers, where I’ve made lifelong friends and completed insane projects I never thought to be within my skillset. I had gone through multiple evolutions by the end of my sophomore year, but I needed a revolution.

Picking up another major was pretty much out of the question since I already have two and want to go to graduate school anyways, and unfortunately Lafayette, IN isn’t a thriving metropolis with infinite opportunities a la New York or San Francisco. I would have to get creative with pushing myself forward so I elected to study abroad.

Tangent: How to Study Abroad with Purdue

When I first made the decision that I wanted to go on exchange, I didn’t really have much of an idea of how the process worked or what my classes would look like. This is likely a common position amongst students wanting to study abroad. Through my trials going through the study abroad system, I have some advice for anyone looking to study abroad through Purdue:

First, choose your field of study wisely. Technical majors such as computer science and many of the engineering disciplines do not have easy pathways to getting credit while studying abroad (for example, the last time someone transferred a CS class to Purdue was 2019, according to my advisor), but the humanities are much more inclined to transfer credits back. For these reasons I decided to study philosophy while abroad. Personally, studying philosophy over computer science was one of the best decisions I made, greatly influencing the wonderful experience I had. I went from having a schedule like this in Fall 2024:

• CS 390 Automatic Plagiarism Detection (Research), 3 credits
• CS 471 Intro to Artificial Intelligence, 3 credits
• HONR 313 Exploring Spatial Data, 3 credits
• POL 327 Global Green Politics, 3 credits
• STAT/MA 416 Probability, 3 credits

To my UCD schedule in Spring 2025, shown in US credits for comparison:

• CS 390 Automatic Plagiarism Detection (Research), 3 credits
• PHIL 2064 Philosophy of Mind and AI, 3 credits
• PHIL 3117 Philosophy of Language, 6 credits
• PHIL 2024 Applied Ethics, 3 credits

Second, be ready to send a ton of emails. Coordinating transfer guidelines and class schedules requires a lot of work from you, and you won’t get as much help as you’d think since the study abroad advisors are very busy. The squeaky wheel gets the grease in this situation. I had to send likely hundreds of emails to coordinate my experience, so be prepared for something in that ballpark.

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Once I got my plan together, I decided to study philosophy at University College Dublin (UCD) in Ireland for the spring 2025 semester. My reasons for going to UCD were many, but some of the biggest were its high-ranking philosophy program, its relative ease to find class information, my AI major accepting the classes I’d take, and my own heritage and travel plans. I had always wanted to go to Ireland (especially since all of my names, Jack O’Connell Hogan, have Irish origins), and while I could’ve been more adventurous language-wise, being in an primarily English-speaking country would allow me to focus more on integration and experiences. I may consider going somewhere like Switzerland for a graduate program where I’d have to learn Swiss German, but that’s a later decision. I also highly recommend being in a city with an airline hub like Ryanair in Dublin since it makes travel much cheaper.

At the Airport

When my dad dropped me off at the airport, I knew I needed to have a completely new outlook. When I first went to Purdue I fleshed out my personality deeper than in high school, but I feel I didn’t fully commit to it at first. This led to some slow starts that were only resolved later in my undergrad, so I decided to be an entirely new person going abroad, open to anything. I was nervous but hopeful heading across the world all on my own, and things turned out beyond my wildest dreams.

On Dublin

Note: In this section and all that follow I will primarily be referencing my journal for recollections of my experiences. There may be some inaccuracies in specific details but the main points are all still there.

When I landed at Dublin Airport I was immediately struck by multiple things: First, Gaelic! It’s still the primary language in Ireland, written on all official signs. Few people speak it regularly but it was definitely very cool to see when all I had seen was English and very rarely Spanish on official signage in the US. I did try to take a class to learn some Gaelic, but all of them were completely full. Second, the store and shopping culture is very different from the US. Many of the products found in Ireland can be found in the US (making my cooking endeavors much easier), but they are all separated into little stores instead of being in a single Walmart or Costco. It makes shopping much more deliberate which I do appreciate, even if it is sometimes very hard to predict which store a product will be at. Third, and most importantly, public transport is a first-class citizen! This felt really good coming from a college town with barely any transit to speak of and made my life in Dublin much easier. I got a student Leap card which gave me reduced fares on all of Ireland’s transit infrastructure and got me pretty much anywhere I wanted to go with probably around 80% punctuality.

After living here for multiple months, I have come to really enjoy being close to the sea. My running/walking route took me along the beach (I was separated from it by a train line, but the sea was still visible), and it has been so calming for my mental health to see the ocean multiple times a week. It gives me a great place to reflect and the sea breeze is to die for. Said route also happens to be in a beautiful park that is always incredibly lively which kept me inspired.

Dublin as a city is a nice size for exploring in the amount of time I had here. It’s not as big as my hometown Washington DC, but that makes getting around much easier, allowing us to do 12-bar crawls without needing to get on any busses. The River Lifey bisecting the city is beautiful and super charming. The small quadrants such as the Temple Bar area while being super expensive are fun to walk though. The Guinness Storehouse is a great experience even if at its core it’s a giant advertisement for beer. There’s also great beaches near the area.

Dublin also has a very vibrant nightlife, with pubs, clubs, and everything in-between. I went to a lot of them with my friends during my time here, and it’s definitely worth exploring the city to find all the best ones. Coppers was definitely my favorite club, and The Old Storehouse is a great pub. Bambino has the best fast pizza I’ve had in Europe and is open till 02:00, great since most pubs and clubs close around then. There are a ton of other little nooks to stick your head into, these are just the ones I frequented.

One of the experiences I’ve had the most fun with was definitely concerts. I only went to two of them while I was here, but both were stellar experiences and really showed off the fun that Dublin can bring. I first went to an electronic concert for Oden & Fatzo with my friend Pam, a night of heavy beats and great electronic music. We were on a balcony and had a great view of the performance with some room to dance as well.

I also went to an Almost Monday concert, and it was AWESOME. Great acoustics and a band I’ve been waiting to see for a very long time; I sang along to pretty much every song they played, and the ones I didn’t know are now on my playlists. I loved every part of it and it was incredibly cheap, too!

Overall, while I may not choose Dublin as my first choice to live in Europe due to its very high housing prices and sometimes iffy transit, it was still the best possible place for me to have my study abroad experience and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

On Self-Sufficiency

People in the US say going off to college is a true test of self-sufficiency, and in some respects that’s true. You usually don’t have immediate access to your support structures and you generally need to figure out making friends on your own. However, a lot of the basic necessities such as food and toiletries are provided for you with no option to take care of them yourself. This kinda puts a damper on the whole “learn to live on your own” mantra, and was a big annoyance for me with regards to the US college system in general. Yes, you could move off campus to an apartment, something many people choose to do and what I’ll be doing for my senior year, but it isn’t the same as Europe.

I’ve had what I’d call a cooking and cleaning spiritual awakening while I’ve been in Dublin. While I was the primary baker at home, I never really got into main courses or even hot breakfasts for the most part. After my exchange I know I will be cooking for myself and my family way more often. One of the best gifts my mom gave me when I jumped the pond was her recipe book; I used so many different recipes from it, and doing so made me feel right at home. Almost all of our cookware was inherited from previous residents so it was somewhat difficult to make all of the dishes I wanted, but I really appreciated the ability to make anything of my choice at all. Having to think more considerably about my intake also allowed me to make better choices for my health, which is a nice bonus. I (and all of my flatmates) also got into cleaning so our flat was always a spotless place to hang out, something I will be bringing forward with me to my other living areas.

On Academics

Going into my academic experience at UCD I didn’t really know what to expect. For the most part my CS and math education has fallen into one of two groups: either I had no idea of any of the subject matter going in (see algorithms and abstract algebra) or everything was a breeze (see Python, C, and Java coding courses). The classes I took at UCD were an interesting middle ground between the two extremes, giving me some “I’ve thought of this question before!” moments in class while also introducing me to concepts I’ve never even considered.

Everything is Different Here: A Primer on the European Education System

Before I get more into my academic experiences, it’s worth mentioning the differences between the American and European higher education systems. Right off the bat, credits are weighted differently, and most people take more credits on average. One European credit is worth 3/5ths an American. Most people take 30 European credits over here (18 US credits) while the average in the US is 15 (25 European), varying by major. While I thought this would mean much more work, turns out it doesn’t! Classes at UCD are structured around much more independent study and group discussion rather than homework assignments.

My Philosophy of Language course’s only assignments were a weekly reading with a three sentence response and two essays. My other two classes had no checked homework whatsoever. Coming from Purdue where I’d usually have upwards of five assignments due per week, it was certainly an adjustment, but a very welcome one. I usually spent most of my day during the semester in the library studying with my friends, a relaxing departure from constantly facing deadline after deadline. The flip side is that my grade is heavily concentrated on only a few assignments, and they tend to grade a lot harder here. A high 50 is a C, not an F, at UCD and other European institutions where grade inflation isn’t as prevalant compared to the US. I’m guessing my GPA will decrease after my time here, but it was definitely still worth it.

An interesting bit of trivia I learned is everyone in Europe has to write an undergrad thesis and their undergrad is usually only three years instead of four. All of my friends from Europe were in the process of writing them which was pretty neat and something I’m excited to do once I go to grad school.

Reasoning, Debate & A Hint of Math

Going a bit deeper into my intellectual experiences, I found it incredibly refreshing to have more than one answer to any given problem. Coming from a world of pure logic, the emphasis in philosophy on perspectives, reflection, and analysis put me in a very open mindset conducive to making new connections I never had before. In Philosophy of Mind and AI, I learned about the philosophical basis for what people call a “mind” versus a “brain”, the theories behind cognition, and how machine learning models fit in to said theories. Much of the independent study was reading scientific papers, and there was even some mention of Turing machines and other mathematical concepts which I found to be a delightful surprise. In Philosophy of Language we analyzed linguistic conventions and their effects on the mind and communication, an interesting diversion from the more hands-on philosophy I was used to doing. In Applied Ethics we considered various ethical problems and how philosophical reasoning could be used to take a position on them.

All of these classes heavily rewarded critical thinking and novel opinions which greatly increased the quality of my education. Debates happened regularly in lectures, giving new perspectives that I didn’t even think of and changing my mind on multiple occasions. I took some interesting directions in my papers for these classes, including using mathematical models for some positions I was arguing for just because I really enjoyed fitting philosophical questions into a purely logical framework. No one asked how the Trolley Problem could be represented using functions, but I made it happen anyways! It makes me think if there’s a good way to do the opposite, fitting some humanities into more technical projects? Definitely worth investigating in the future.

On Friendship

I knew I wanted to make friends fast when I got to Dublin, but I never could’ve predicted how quick I would become part of a friend group. It started the night I got in, carrying a backpack and three suitcases around a kilometer from the bus stop. I had just got my keys, and I mostly expected to just get in, drop my stuff, and go to bed. Instead, I opened the door to my flat and my flatmate Mo opened his neighboring door, warmly greeted me, and invited me out to a club he was going to. I of course accepted his invitation, and I’m very happy I did!

The club experience was about what I expected with loud but decent music and ok-priced drinks, a fun night for sure but definitely not the main takeaway. The real prize of that night was my entire friend group. At the club that night I met Max, Tom, Christina, Lisanne (who I didn’t even know was my flatmate until I met her), Pam, and other people in the group. We would eventually expand to around a dozen people from all over the place including the US, Canada, Germany, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and Austria. These would be the people I would end up spending pretty much all of my time with over the course of my exchange, and I wouldn’t trade them for anyone else!

We had a lot of super fun experiences together, including a Super Bowl potluck night, exploring the city, nights at the Clubhouse (the on-campus bar, a crazy concept coming from the US), and just studying together at the library (the most common option by far). There are a seemingly infinite number of things we all did together and I honestly don’t even know if I could list them all!

Cohabitation

I talked a bit about living in a flat earlier and I want to expand on the aspect of living with other people. The only thing I’d experienced up until UCD’s accommodations were Purdue’s dorms which have a very different vibe; there’s simultaneously more privacy and more community in UCD’s flats which I really enjoyed. I had my own bedroom, a bathroom I shared with Lisanne, and a communal kitchen for all of us. I found this to be a great mix of privacy and community, allowing me to be alone if I wanted to or mixing in with everyone else otherwise.

One of the best things I experienced in my flat was definitely the communal cooking. Especially earlier in the semester when we had less going on all of us would cook for each other, making dishes I didn’t even know I was missing. This was especially true for my Italian flatmate Vittorio, whose pasta cooking and meatball rolling skills are unmatched. Not to be outdone, Mo made some incredible summer rolls, and Lisanne gave me some very creative snack dish ideas that I plan to use whenever I’m craving something tasty and filling. I of course also made my own dishes which were well-received.

I had a great time doing all of that, but UCD threw some curve balls when designing the kitchen. First, we had a single mini fridge to store all of our food. This was honestly kind of funny, with us having to find new and interesting ways to fit everything in the fridge like a game of Tetris. This situation lead to us sharing a lot of food, a decision that worked well since we all would buy things whenever we ran out of a specific item, keeping the kitchen very well-stocked. The second issue was the lack of an oven, greatly limiting our ability to cook even rudimentary dishes. However, I solved this issue with a device common in the US but apparently much less popular in Europe: an air fryer. Once I bought it and plugged it in, it was basically the Industrial Revolution but for our cooking abilities. None of my flatmates had ever used one before, but all of them, especially Lisanne and Vittorio, absolutely loved it. Our air fryer was constantly in use, and our friend Kadin (who is from the US and used to the dominance of the air fryer) would even come from her flat down the road just to use it! It really saved us from an eternity of fried and boiled foods and made my culinary experience at UCD so much better.

One of the Girls

Having a great friend group, one completely integrated in my living experience at UCD, was certainly the best start I could’ve had to my semester, and things just kept getting better. I happened to click particularly well with Christina and we became best friends over the course of the semester. We would study together pretty much every day, have movie nights at her place (with her getting me into Yellowjackets and me getting her into Severance), and we constantly texted each other about whatever was on our minds; we were practically joined at the hip! She was responsible for a great improvement in my music library diversity, my switch to Apple Music (I never knew how good Dolby Atmos could be), making sure I stayed focused while studying by syncing with her focus timer, and me becoming comfortable with (and eventually excited to participate in) karaoke, just to name a few. When I told her I was searching around for destinations for my ski trip, she suggested Obertauern in Austria, and that turned into a week-long trip though the country, eventually meeting up with her in Vienna. Christina unlocked a new, funner, freer side of me, and I will forever be grateful to her for doing so. We still keep in touch regularly after we both returned home!

Becoming best friends with Christina had an unexpected benefit: being inducted into The Girls. This put my personality revolution into overdrive, giving me access to a whole new world of socialization. Interactions felt much more talkative and nuanced on the female side of the spectrum, something that had been missing in my life until then. I would go bake a cake at Pam’s, chat around with Kadin, and fully commit to being my curious self, asking questions and keeping tabs on what was happening in their lives. Pam once said something along the lines of:

“You’re not one of the girls because you’re feminine but because you actually care.”

I was honored by her statement, and realized that if someone was saying this to me, it meant I had come a long way from who I used to be back home. She honestly made my day with this!

All that being said, I highly value my male friends as well! Every friend I made abroad enhanced my life in so many ways, and I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s just so much better with a good balance of both men and women since I have parts of my personality satisfied by both sides.

On Travels & Travelers

Traveling was of course one of the big draws of studying abroad, but I also met a lot of people traveling to Ireland! Many of my friends had their European friends come over to visit such as Christina’s friend Benni, who visited for a few days for only the cost of a cheap Ryanair flight. I wish it was cheaper and easier for my US friends to come visit me, but that’s neither here nor now.

How I Got Everywhere

People who know me well probably saw this coming a mile away: the section where I gush about public transit. Don’t get me wrong, Washington DC has great public transit for being in the US, in my opinion not too far from New York’s. However, European transit networks are a level above. Consistent, cheap, and comfortable service made my travels around Europe a breeze. Dublin has good bus service but their tram network, the Luas, is definitely lacking in service and stations so I didn’t use them often; Dublin Airport doesn’t even have a stop! On the flip side Ireland’s long-distance rail network is generally pretty good, getting me around the country without trouble.

While Ireland was good, continental Europe was GREAT. Trains regularly ran at 220 km/h (137 mi/h) and metro and tram service was always on time, especially in Austria and Switzerland. I had some seriously close calls, catching trains by only a minute on long transfers, but at least they were quick! These trains saved my wallet from the trauma of having to pay for a ton of (albeit relatively cheap) flights.

Everywhere

Aside from Ireland I visited or travelled though a laundry list of countries including France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and Switzerland. I have so many stories from all of them, but I’ll just give an overview of each trip.

Galway, Ireland: 1-3 February, 2025

My first major trip involved around ten of us going to Galway on the west side of Ireland. It was pretty easy to get over there, only needing €17 train tickets. Our hostel situation was also great, with the guys and girls each getting separate rooms with no strangers.

We didn’t have much of a plan for what to do in Galway, but I don’t think that negatively impacted our experience. For the most part we wandered around town, got some souvenirs, ate some very good fish and chips, and relaxed on the beach. We also went down to Salthill and hung out there, a nice detour a chance to walk along the coast for a while. I participated in a local tradition called “kicking the wall” where at a certain place along the Salthill footpath you kick the wall for good luck.

At night we did some bar hopping, eventually landing at The Kings Head. This may be the best pub I’ve ever been to. It had a great atmosphere, good prices, lots of room for us to sit, and tons of live music. The area directly in front of the performers even turns into a dance floor when the night gets late! I certainly had a ton of fun in there on the multiple occasions we went.

All things considered this trip went great. However, there was a small little wrinkle: One night I drank more than I probably should’ve, but I knew I did! I decided to go home to bed to make sure I would be ready for the next day. I made it home, did my autopilot bedtime routine of taking a shower and brushing my teeth, and went to bed. I decided to lock the door just so no one we didn’t know could get into the room while I was sleeping and everyone else was still out. Importantly, the door is a deadbolt, so I took one of the two keys for the room from the front desk to lock it. Unfortunately, I was very checked out by the time I got back to the room, and I left the key in the lock. Doing this disabled the lock from the outside. When my friends got back they pounded on the door, but I was dead. This led to the hotel manager having to take the door off its hinges over the course of thirty minutes to get it open and remove the key. When this happened, my entire friend group filed into the room to see the culprit, me, blissfully unaware and still asleep. I was informed of the fiasco the next morning and we all had a great laugh, but I am now very careful with my keys!

Howth, Ireland: 9 February 2025

One day we spontaneously decided to go on a hike at Howth, a peninsula off the coast of Dublin accessible via the DART train. We went on a cold and rainy day but still had a nice time hiking along the shores and through the hills. This was also the first opportunity I got to use my drone! I had to get certified in the EU but other than that it was pretty simple and I got some great shots.

We all got some great photos, saw some livestock, and completed the longest trail. Finishing out we got some great dinner along the pier walk and ended with time to spare in the day.

Hossegor, France & San Sebastián, Spain: 8-14 March, 2025

This is the first trip I took during our two week “fieldwork and study period”, aka spring break. Earlier in the semester my friend Tom mentioned his family had a beach house that we could stay in, and I decided to take him up on his offer! Him, Mo, Ryan, and I went down to the south of France to take in the sun for the first week of break. It wasn’t the easiest time getting over there, requiring an overnight layover at STN in a small concourse with a comically high proportion of loud snorers. After we made it through that experience it was pretty easy to get to the house, and what a house it was!

It was built in the early 20th century and is absolutely gorgeous; it could’ve fit everyone in our group if we needed! The first day was mostly just us getting settled, a few games of ping pong, and movie time. The next days we would end up going to the markets, and this was one of my favorite parts of being in France: the food. It is just as good as I remember from my trips a few years ago, and getting it local is even better. There was a bakery and a cheese shop for whom we were probably their best customers, not to mention a fish and local produce shop that covered a good portion of our meals. We made some really great dishes while we were there, and it was made even better by us having a full gas range and an oven, making cooking super easy.

The rest of the week was filled with a great mix of activities and relaxation. We went to town multiple times, strolling through the shops and feeling the pulse of the center. I even went by myself once, managing to get some groceries with the few months of Duolingo French I took a few years ago with only a few strange looks stemming from my pronunciations :). One day we went to a driving range, and while I am not the best shot it was still a great time. Another time we all went to the beach, and Tom even did some surfing. I took those opportunities to get some drone shots, and they turned out awesome:

On the chiller side we sometimes did our schoolwork, drank beers, and had gatherings on the porch at night. The serenity of talking with low lighting by a lake inlet is unmatched.

On the second to last day we took a road trip to San Sebastián, only an hour south of us. We all piled into Tom’s 90’s Ford Fiesta and we were off! Aside from a few mechanical faults the drive was a lot of fun, and we arrived in the city pretty early in the day. They use their own specific language, Basque, not descended from Spanish or French, on all the signage (in addition to Spanish for the rest of the population) which is really cool.

The town itself is gorgeous, with stunning architecture right by the sea. All we knew we wanted to do was to take in the city, and that’s exactly what we did. We hiked to the top of the Castle of La Mota, on top of which is a giant statue and a stunning view of the city.

Once we got down we went to a tapas place and got some good food, beer, and sangria. Afterwards we walked by a war memorial when an old lady stopped us. She told us (in Spanish) about her grandfather who died in the war and is listed on the plaque. She was incredibly sweet and I could even understand some of what she was saying; Spanish classes came in use after all! I loved that experience, interacting with locals always gives such great returns. After that we walked around the coast, visited three closed ice cream shops before by chance walking by one that was open, looked at an art exhibit Mo wanted to see, and just chilled on the promenade. We also found these tubes by Mo’s exhibit that were connected to the sea, and they had some serious winds come out of them, launching Ryan’s hat three meters into the air!

San Sebastián is such a great place with so much energy and we had an amazing time there. We headed back home just as it was starting to rain, had a nice relaxing day after that, and finally headed to the airport to go back to Dublin.

St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin: 17 March, 2025

St. Patrick’s day was a lovely time, starting off with a brunch Pam made at her place. It was expertly laid out with a color scheme to match the Irish flag and items that would keep us full for the duration of the day. We ate and chatted for a while before getting ready to head out to the parade.

The parade was very elaborate with a lot of groups and floats coming through, from charitable organizations to firefighters to some schools. I enjoyed the variety of floats present at the parade, some of which are below:

Once the parade ended we all went to Wetherspoon’s, an eat-in bar chain, to unwind for a bit after standing for the entire day.

Afterwards we went to The Old Storehouse, a place with great live music and cheap drinks where we stayed for the rest of the night. I’m really happy I had the opportunity to spend St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland. I didn’t get a lot of time to rest after that day because I had a flight to catch at 05:00, resulting in a funny sequence where my flatmates were coming back from the pubs at around 02:00 and I was just getting up from my quick nap, leading to me stealing some pasta from a giant pot they’d made and running out the door.

Obertauern, Austria: 19-21 March, 2025

This is the second trip I took during spring break, and it was crazy good. Getting to Obertauern was probably the most stressful travel experience I’ve had in Europe, but it was so worth it. I had my super early flight from Dublin to Munich, then three different trains with less than five minute connections, eventually arriving at my terminal station. I ran into this trilingual woman there and we had a delightful conversation during the time we were waiting for our respective busses, and honestly that kind of kind, casual interaction gives me so much energy and I love when they happen. My bus arrived and I got on to go to the ski village. Everything went perfectly fine, but I spent way too much time stressing over how I’d tell the Austrian bus driver that I’d need to get luggage out of the bus. I said something in German and with a few hand gestures added in for good measure he seemed to understand enough. After getting my luggage I checked in at my hotel (hostels just don’t exist in ski villages), got my skis, ordered dinner, picked up some (surprisingly cheap) snacks, and settled into my room for the night. I always love being in the mountains, and Obertauern was no exception!

I didn’t have too long in Obertauern, so I made it count. I skied all seven peaks and pretty much every trail in the resort! I also got some beautiful views along the way.

Another high point of the trip was definitely the on-slope food. It wasn’t cheap, but it was so good. I had this sausage soup that warmed me up pretty much instantly, and for dessert I had what is now my absolute favorite way of eating pancakes: kaiserschmarrn.

Christina was not impressed by the soup, something that is made very funny by the fact that she’s Austrian!

The second day of skiing was pretty icy and I decided to call it a bit early, but overall I’m super happy I went; I’m now an alpine skier!

Vienna & Waidhofen an der Thaya, Austria: 21-24 March, 2025

Once I’d had my fun in Obertauern I went straight over to Vienna. Getting out of the town was quite the experience, with me getting the craziest (positive connotation) taxi driver I’ve ever ridden with whipping me over to the station, beating the bus that had skipped my stop! I honestly felt like I was on a rollercoaster, but he got a good tip from me after that one. A quick four-ish hour train ride followed and I made it to Vienna Central Station. The city is gorgeous at night with buildings surrounding you from many different eras of Austria’s history. I also love their transit signage.

I immediately boarded a tram, went to a secondary station, then took a train to a midway town where I met up with Christina and her mom. They drove me back to their hometown, Waidhofen an der Thaya, where I would be staying for the next few days. I was introduced to her dad and some of the cutest pets I’ve seen! We didn’t do anything too crazy while I was there, mostly going to cafes, meeting Christina’s grandma, and just lounging on the couch watching TV. It was lovely to get to stay in a small town with her and just relax before heading to Vienna.

We went to Vienna twice while I was there, first for a few parties. At the first I met Benni again and a few of his friends. It was a nice chill party and I met some cool people, but we didn’t stay too long. The second party was much more intense and impactful to my later trips. At this party I met two people who I’d end up seeing again: Ben and Lin. Ben was the host of the party and we really hit it off; he said I would need to come back, and I decided I might just do that. I also met Lin, a computer scientist who I had a lot in common with. She would by chance end up visiting Dublin and I met up with her when she was in town. It always feels so fun finding people in places you don’t expect!

After that night we came back to Waidhofen for a day, watched the season finale of Severance (best show ever don’t @ me), then went back to Vienna. Christina had some stuff to get done, so armed with her recommendations for food I went around Vienna on my own, exploring the various districts and landmarks. I always love to roam around cities, and Vienna has a lot of cool monuments and buildings that made it especially worthwhile.

I stopped at a cafe, went to various museums, and immersed myself in the city. I used my Eduroam connection to find university buildings and explore them, a fun diversion to see what unis are like over there (answer: very fancy, look like palaces). Eventually I met up with Christina again, we went to sleep, then got on our flight back home. This was a very formative trip for me and heavily influenced the rest of my semester.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands: 11-14 April, 2025

I was really excited for my Amsterdam trip for multiple reasons: The city is beautiful, I would get to spend some time with my family after not seeing them for months, and my Dutch flatmate Lisanne had given me some great recommendations for things to do in the city. The start to my travel day was packed full, with me going to Christina’s place to watch the Yellowjackets season finale (it was really good), then immediately hopping on a bus to the airport. I reunited with my family and we got on our plane. Amsterdam is such a beautiful place with incredible public transit, definitely near the top of my list of places I’d like to live.

The first day was of course pretty chill, just arriving at our place and grabbing some pizza for dinner at a nice restaurant. I decided to go out on my own for a bit afterwards (thankfully I had bought a multi-day transit pass) and I picked up some stroopwafels for my family and I which were of course incredible. We also went to this crazy fast food place called Febo where the food is stored in little capsules that you use your credit card to open. Fun concept and great food for being so cheap.

A quick aside: Dutch is such an interesting language. It’s an intriguing mix of English and German and honestly seems not too hard to learn. I was accidentally in bike lanes when I thought I wasn’t so I also got to experience being sworn at in Dutch and honestly it kinda made me laugh, the way they say “fuck” is more like “fook” so English may stay my swearing language :).

The next day we went to the Rijksmuseum (great suggestion from Lisanne) and explored Dutch history and culture. It was a very expansive exhibit and definitely worth the cheap price of admission.

We were supposed to go to the Van Gogh Museum afterwards, but due to deceptive Google ad placement we went to this projection exhibit instead (we came to learn this is a common occurrence). It was still interesting but lesson learned on making sure we booked the right thing. While waiting to go inside I had some authentic Dutch apple pie and I felt like I was in heaven.

After the projection show we came back home and unwinded. I’m not usually super active on social media but I had some great photos so I decided to post them on my story. I then received a message I didn’t expect: my bestie Kate who I knew from Purdue was in Amsterdam! We agreed we needed to meet up at some point, a commitment that would have profound rewards later in the semester.

The next day started out with going to Keukenhof, the tulip gardens everyone knows The Netherlands for. They were just coming into bloom and were absolutely beautful! I’ve never seen that many flowers in a single place and it’s honestly a miracle my nose wasn’t constantly running from all the pollen everywhere. There were so many delightfully unique varieties that I just gave up keeping track of them all.

There were also other attractions on site including a windmill and a mechanical orchestra playing various songs, both of which were a lot of fun.

After we came back we went to Anne Frank House. That was a tough one; very well done and told a story that needs to be heard, but I almost broke down at some points. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.

Once we had exited the house I coordinated a meetup with Kate. We met at this ramen place and she brought her friend Avery who she was traveling with. We had a great time catching up over some pretty good ramen. Once we were done we went to a cocktail bar called Freddy’s and tried some drinks. It certainly wasn’t cheap, costing me around $86, but definitely worth the great tastes and conversations we had. After our drinks we went to the Red Light District. I’m glad I got to see it in person, definitely a very interesting place to be. We got a few more shots and walked up and down the District a few more times before heading to a mini pancake and churro place to end out the night. We said our goodbyes, but not before Kate invited me to Zürich. Yet again, I decided I may just take that invitation.

The last day of our trip we went biking near some old windmills at Zaandjik, a great way to end things out! I loved the experience so much; this is actually what I’m meant to do.

Vienna & Riegersburg, Austria: 6-8 May, 2025

Remember when I mentioned that Ben invited me back? I took him up on that offer. In early May, after I had finished all of my finals, I was back in Austria! Ben picked me up at the airport and we headed back to his place. Our first day was filled with a lot of fun, starting with us catching up on what was going on with us. Ben is in the final stages of planning a study abroad in Peru and is working on his research involving Open Street Map as a measure of development, both of which we had great discussions about. He then made me this very tasty hummus salad for lunch whose recipe I’m definitely stealing for myself.

Later that night we went to this great Austrian place and tried some delicious traditional dishes. Once we got back we sat around his fire pit, chatted, and did a whiskey tasting session. I learned there is actually quite a bit that goes into that stuff and was able to discern certain aspects of the liquor I hadn’t even thought of before.

The next day was packed with stuff to do. We started off at 04:45 to go to a vineyard and watch the sun rise. It was incredibly peaceful and a great view, definitely worth the lack of sleep!

After we got back we drove out to Riegersburg for the day with two big things to hit: a chocolate factory and a whiskey storehouse. The chocolate storehouse was so much more than I thought it’d be. We were guided though every step of the chocolate-making process, from bean selection to final curing. Of course, you could taste everything in said process, so I was trying beans, raw chocolate, and all of the crazy flavors that came off the end of the production line.

They even had a chocolate ski lift installed by the ski lift company Doppelmayr; it had an official plaque and everything!

After that very sugary experience we went out to the gardens. They had a whole zoo, sculpture garden, and restaurant in their backyard! Crazy experience and so much fun to explore.

We bought a lot of chocolate then headed off to the whiskey storehouse. Ben works there so I got a private backstage tour of all of the facilities with all shots included! It was very generous of him to do this for me and I’m so thankful he let me take part. I never relented and I lost count of the number of shots I took but it was great to taste all the different varieties of liquor they had. They even had other stuff like mezcal in a private collection that was really good.

I started my last day by exploring town for a bit on my own then meeting up with Ben for lunch. We walked to the train station together and said goodbye, and then I was off on my eight hour train ride to Zürich!

Zürich, Switzerland: 8-13 May, 2025

I arrived in the city pretty late, around 23:20, but Kate was waiting there to give me a bear hug! We made our way through the winding and hilly roads of Zürich, taking the long route to see some of the many sights of the city. We also passed by fountains for the coldest, freshest water I’ve ever tasted; one of the hardest things about leaving was having to go back to whatever they call “water” outside of Switzerland!

Eventually we made it to her accommodation, and it was certainly a bit unorthodox: a converted hotel with more than 20 people living in it! She lived on the third floor and of course the elevator was out of order (for good it seems, the cables were cut). There was also a non-functioning dumbwaiter with a Schindler panel from the ’60s but the machine room was locked so I didn’t get to investigate. Elevator nerd stuff aside, it was a very nice place. We weren’t there for long though, since (mirroring my experience arriving in Dublin) we immediately went to a night club. We met up with some of Kate’s friends including Avery, Nadia, and Zoe then partied for a while. Once we left the club we went to McDonalds, I got to get a look at the Switzerland-specific menu (which included donuts) then Kate and I speed walked home, going on a quick diversion to see some of the ETH campus. After we got home she showed me a really cool scrapbooking project she was working on that later inspired me to buy postcards for a similar endeavor, highly recommend.

The next days were pretty relaxed. Kate and I took a daytime tour of Zürich, got some great sausages and coffee, then came back to the house. I ended up meeting a ton of really cool people including Gerard, Aditya, Adam, Estelle, Leo, Sam, Jakob, Alex, and many others. I clicked especially well with Maya, a talented mechanical engineer from MIT who is working on atmospheric turbulence research using glass beads as stand-ins for rain and computer vision to track the effects of turbulence on said beads. We spent a lot of time discussing our respective research with each other, something I relished in as I hadn’t had the chance to do so in a while.

We had a lot of fun doing things including playing Evolution, an engaging strategy game, going to a pub quiz, and cooking tons of different things. Avery made some really good banana bread and chocolate pistachio cookies and I got a chance to make my turkey meatballs. It wasn’t easy going through a supermarket with everything in Swiss German and no turkey (I used chicken instead) but after two hours I got everything.

Overall I had an amazing time in Zürich and I can’t wait to see Kate, Nadia, and Adam back at Purdue next semester! However, this wasn’t the only thing I did in Switzerland…

Interlaken, Switzerland: 10-12 May, 2025

During my Zürich trip I also took a trip to Interlaken with Avery, Aditya, Kate, Nadia, and Adam, with the latter three staying with me in a hostel for a few days. Our first day started very early with us all getting on a train for a few hours. Once we got to Interlaken we checked into our hostel (which turned out to be very nice with a private room for the four of us) then we were off to hikes! This led us through multiple towns with a ton of waterfalls, beautiful views, and the cutest cows! I got some crazy déjà vu since I had been there before with my family doing very similar things but it was great to be there with friends and able to explore whatever we wanted to.

We eventually ended up in Mürren, got some souvenirs, then went on a nice long hike. Eventually Avery and Aditya left to go back but the rest of us continued and finished it even with some crazy terrain! We somehow lost the path and ended up having to cross a ski slope sideways and go through absolute mud pits, but we had fun and made it back.

The second day we went to Kandersteg to hike a lake basin. A slight annoyance was the fact that they banned drones but didn’t alert the Swiss government so it showed as open to fly on their site; they really need to get their act together on that! Anyways it was a beautiful gondola ride up and we immediately saw a toboggan ride. We of course got tickets and rode it and it was a ton of fun.

The lake was absolutely incredible. We walked up, down, and all around for a total of 11km over the course of the day. We had a picnic at the top with a ton of goodies, then we went down to the lake bed itself to look at the waterfalls and other stuff. When we were at the top of the valley we saw a rock in the lake. Kate said she was gonna swim over to it when we went to the basin, and she did! That hike was so fun and we ended it with another ride on the toboggan.

The last day we stuck around town, got breakfast, did some shopping, and walked along the river. We met some very friendly cats on the way which was a lovely surprise! Soon enough the time came to get on our train and we headed back to Zürich.

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I am so incredibly thankful I had the opportunity to travel to all of these places, especially when I was able to go with friends (or meet new ones while traveling). My deepest thanks to those who hosted me, without you Europe wouldn’t’ve been nearly as fulfilling!

I’ve learned much more about local cultures and customs than I thought possible through such short visits and I can’t wait to return in the future! I also had the delightful experience of being subject to positive American stereotypes. People I’ve met have described Americans as very kind, friendly, and considerate, characterizations I didn’t expect given the current political landscape, but ones I definitely appreciate! Everyone I’ve met in Europe has also been incredibly kind and have made each destination worth returning to over and over again. Who knows, I might move over there one day.

A New Me

I’ve learned I have an attribute that going to a new location unlocks a new part of me. First it was Purdue, spurring me into new friendships and technical pursuits, especially at Purdue Hackers. Next it was my trip to New York, learning more about what I wanted my personal style to be and engrossing myself in the local culture. Now, it’s Europe. Except I didn’t just go to one place in Europe, I went to many, and each one had its own unique, important impact. Europe didn’t change me, it reinvented me. So much that even the 10,000 words I wrote about my experience and the thousands of photos I took can’t fully do it justice. From the concepts I learned to the places I went and the people I met, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget this semester.

It’s hard for me to close out this post, because it symbolizes me closing the door on what I consider to be the best time in my life so far, period. I don’t know how long I can stay away from Europe now that I’ve simultaneously taken so many friendships and experiences and given so much of my heart and soul. My quest of self-improvement to expand ever upward won’t stop, of course, but being a adventerous, philosophical explorer with a good chunk of Europe under my belt will make the next mountain I climb all that much easier.