My study abroad trip to Seoul, South Korea impacted my career choice in a much more unconventional way than you would think. It wasn’t my classes, my university, or the academics at all. The classes I’m taking abroad are incredibly interesting and knowledgeable, but they fill my elective requirements rather… read more
Copenhagen as my Home, the Arctic as my Classroom – Studying in Iceland and Greenland
In my previous blog post, I talked about what life was like living in Copenhagen, but along with my study program through DIS, I had the opportunity to go on study tours in both Iceland and Greenland as a part of my coursework for Climate Change and Glacier Modeling and… read more
Enjoy Being Abroad At Your Own Pace
When studying abroad in Spain, people usually expect to hear Barcelona or Madrid. For me however, it was Santander. Santander is the capital of Cantabria and is on the northern shore of Spain. When I first arrived, I was taken away by its beauty and climate. However, despite how much… read more
Lost in Translation
When I arrived at Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan, I expected my study abroad experience to be simple. Although I am participating in an Intensive Japanese language program, as a heritage speaker I did not expect much of a challenge and intended the trip to be a route of… read more
Beijing- Home, with Chinese Subtitles
北京- 家园跟中文字幕 Now, I’m not going to say that life in Beijing or any other part of China doesn’t involve plenty of radical differences compared to American living on the day to day. As I’m sure you’ve probably always heard, it is indeed a particularly foreign-feeling environment to find oneself… read more
Embracing the Differences and Making Them Feel Like Home
Starting the summer of last year, my hopes of spending a summer in the bustling city of Seoul, South Korea were beginning to realize. I recall being unable to contain my excitement when my roommate and I, in idle conversation inside our local Walmart, discussed both of our ambitions to… read more
A Lesson Learned on a Business Trip – Beijing Style
Hello again! If you have not read my previous blog, then let me give a brief introduction to who I am and what I do. My name is Valerie Barboza and I am an upcoming third-year mathematics major in Shanghai, China for an internship. My internship for the first four… read more
To Host Family or not to Host Family
In some study abroad programs you may have the option to decide between living in an apartment or with a host family. It can be a hard decision and one that can greatly affect your summer (or semester). I switched from an apartment to a home-stay at the last second… read more
Ni de aquí, ni de allá
As our class comes to an end, so do a lot of indescribable and once in a life-time experiences, but what we take with us will be forever. If you’ve ever watched the movie Selena, there’s a line that resonates with me a lot, and as tempted as I am… read more
Fast Boats + Big Pyramids
So, after being in the highlands of Guatemala for about two weeks with the fresh weather and nice breezes, we flew down the mountains to the lowland flats. The heat was real, and when we went on our excursions through the jungle and up the pyramids, we wore long-sleeves and… read more
