hello, real world!
The excitement of starting university has settled, and the hardcore academics and “adulting” has begun. Still, I wake up some days shocked that I really do live HERE, and I am calling “this”…home?
The start of October saw a few interesting projects in classes. My personal favorite was a research presentation I completed on cryptocurrency and its potential future in the global market. As my friends will tell you, I really miss Silicon Valley and all of the exciting tech things happening at home (they’re quite annoyed with how often I talk about “the Valley”). IE has shown me that technology and IR really does go hand in hand and that this is the future of our major.
Midterms … happened? It all went by so quickly I could barely believe I was sitting here writing another monthly update. I am really content with how Mandarin has been going! I got a full 10 (on a 10 pt scale) on my midterm which I was not expecting at all. It’s such a fascinating language to learn and I’m pleasantly surprised with how fast I’ve picked it up. I’m hoping that I can continue to keep up my grades and make my parents at home proud of me — I love you guys, I will make IE worth it ❤

In classic, clumsy Sofia fashion, I broke my phone at the very start of midterms week. Since there’s no Apple store in Segovia I had to wait until the weekend to get it fixed. I’m just taking this chance to show off this picture of me and my Papa in Madrid in February, about a month after I had been accepted to IE but not yet committed. Underneath is a photo of me in the same spot getting my phone fixed but without my papa. Can you tell I miss my family?

This month I’m really thankful for MY PEOPLE. Uni is really hard and it’s nice to have such a supportive group who is always checking up on me and willing to indulge me doing the weirdest things (dancing to We’re All in This Together early in the morning, eating potato chips with my metal chopsticks, drinking children’s juice boxes instead of wine). It’s like gaining a second family and I’m really grateful I found you guys and that I get to be your “little sister”. These friendships make my heart full. Thank you for making such a big life transition just a bit easier :’)

Halloween happened this month! I was never such a big fan of Halloween in my childhood but I spent the night with some fantastic people. We all dressed as hippies and enjoyed the “IE experience” ;)

As some of you know, 3 years ago I spent a week in Coimbra, Portugal through Santa Clara Sister Cities. Speaking truthfully, I never thought I’d see my host sister Bianca again. What would ever bring me back to Portugal? Well…seeing as I had a three day weekend and Portugal is just a skip away… I got to reunite with Bianca and her lovely family! I am so grateful for the friendship we’ve managed to maintain despite such a large distance. Adoro te muito, Bianca ❤

And that’s about all for the month of October! Things are moving along quickly in terms of planning the summer, rewriting resumes, etc. etc. If you’d like to see more pictures of the month/travels/friends, you can always head on over to my Facebook and check out the set of photos I’ve uploaded. https://www.facebook.com/skritikopoulos
Of course, for any of my SCHS or Interact kiddos, feel free to reach out with your university questions! It’s a difficult choice to make and I know you’re all approaching crunch time for your applications. I’m always here to make it just a little bit easier :)
Hasta el próximo mes,
Sofia Kritikopoulos
