This post was contributed by Catherine Andersson, academic records coordinator for Education Abroad, about her experience with cultural identity while abroad. What does it mean to take yourself abroad? While the physical processes of going through airports, arriving in country, going to local orientations are all valid motions of “being… read more
China
Immer-Asian
I am a banana: yellow on the outside, white on the inside. This is a term often used to describe an ABC (American-born Chinese) or 华裔. We look Chinese, but we do not act Chinese. We have grown up assimilated into the American lifestyle. My friends and I have occasionally… read more
Changing the Soundtrack of My Life
Hello again! One thing you should know about me is that music governs a major part of my life, and it is very likely that music also plays a major role in your life as well. According to a 2017 report released by Nielsen Music, Americans listen to a little… read more
Concerns and Skepticism Before My Departure to China
大家好! (dà jiā hǎo) Hello everyone! My name is Diego Maldonado. I am a third-year aerospace engineering major, and I always dreamed of studying abroad! I knew that this would become a life changing experience and I simply couldn’t miss out on it. I originally considered over 10 different countries… read more
In Beijing, “Goodbye” is a Western Import or : From Hello to See You Again
在北京，“拜拜“ 是一个西方的进口货 或者: 从你好到再见 你好 To all those regular followers of the Global Ambassadors Blog out there who might have actually read and up until now still remember my first post, I owe you a brief redaction and apology. Today, instead of contrasting my earlier blogging by providing a… read more
Haggling 101
Everybody has had the awkward moment where you pretended not to like something after seeing the price tag. However, there are cultures where price tags are not the rule-of-law. Studying abroad provides the luxury of paying what you want, when you want, but only if you know how. Here are… read more
Why You Should Consider Going Somewhere Other Than Europe
We all know someone that has studied abroad in Europe. I get it. The attraction of the Eiffel tower in Paris, smashing plates in Greece, and Hogwarts in the U.K. are all hard to beat. There is no worrying about languages, and the cultures do not typically require much adjustment.… read more
Don’t Tell People You Are American, Trust Me…
The word “American” sometimes leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of foreigners. Let’s be honest, vacationing Americans are not the most sensitive to other cultures and customs. We have created the stereotype that American vacationers can be quite literally “idiots abroad”. When students study abroad, we can sometimes suffer… read more
Bae in Beijing
Horns meet world. World meet Shalaka Joshi. Shalaka is a Government and Plan II major here at UT in the College of Liberal Arts. She spent her 2014 summer in Beijing, China as part of the US-China Relations Maymester at Tsinghua University. She had the opportunity to explore several cities in… read more