Hola! It’s refreshing to come back to the states after a long winter break and an eventful holiday back in my home country. I left in mid-November, just when it was getting cold, and came back in early January to a snowy, windy—and freezy!—Chicago. Just days before, I was spending time with my family on the beach. Just a few days later, I was seeing my first snowy day here.

These few first months of the year have been hectic: getting back to my apartment, dealing with the cold freezing temps—I love snow, not the cold!—, trying to get back on track with a decent sleeping pattern (I see you weird timezone change) and a decent study and work schedule. But it has actually been more enjoyable than I imagined.

I was surprised (and freezing!) seeing all this snow for the first time!

I really like my new classes for the semester. I got to meet with my classmates and do an amazing collab game with them, had the experience of going to my first Comedy Show at the Second City with my roommates, and even participated in some excursions prepared by Columbia College in honor of the Black History Month!

We went on an excursion with other Grad and Undergrad students to the DuSable Museum for Black History Month!

I could see all of the clubs available in the Block Party hosted by Columbia!

Truth to be told, I’ve been struggling a bit to find a balance between all of the activities that I want to do at this start of the year and all of the school work and new schedules that I currently have, but that’s not bad at all—I’m still adapting to this bright new city and to its people. I’m especially adapting to how I can be independent and still enjoy learning and doing the things that I want to do here. I’m learning about how I can prioritize my time, stick to deadlines and not forget to have fun and enjoy the things that I like. So, in the meantime, I’ll try to find a good balance that can work for me—I feel that it’s going to be an amazingly fun year!