How I actually started learning to speak Spanish


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After years of Spanish classes, I still felt like I couldn’t actually speak any Spanish when I arrived in Chile. During my first week in Santiago, people were constantly like, ¿me entiendes? ¿Cachai?, using words I’d never even heard before, like paltas (avocados), carrete (party), fome (boring) and variations on wea which I still don’t […]

College life, beyond media portrayals and generalizations


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Where do we get the idea of what college is supposed to be like? I usually end up eating strawberry sorbet and singing along to the Moulin Rouge soundtrack in old pajamas on a Saturday night. I know people who do the same, but I also know a lot of people who love to go […]

Misconceptions shattered in Amman, Jordan


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Marhaaban from Amman, Jordan! When I told people where I was studying abroad, I’d always be met by a beat of surprised silence and then, “So, like…the Middle East?” Yeah, the Middle East. It seems crazy that a college student like myself would choose to study in a country surrounded almost on all sides by […]

Weekends spent brunchin’ at Brick + Mortar


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Set only a few blocks away from the Santa Monica beach, this bustling and lively restaurant is the perfect ambient for brunch. Insanely busy, yet driven by attentive servers, Brick + Mortar was the closest thing to paradise on an early Saturday morning. With impeccable service and exceptional menus, it left me and my friends […]

A day as an American in Paris


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I was warned of many things before I began studying abroad in Paris. The beautiful monuments, the breathtaking street views, the unmatched cuisine — these were all typical Parisian stereotypes that guided my decision to study abroad in the city of lights. But I was warned too of the less-savory Parisian stereotypes — the rude, […]

HONY post shows there’s still hope for American education


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As the semester begins to pick up, life with the flurry of papers, midterms and lab reports seems to move at an accelerated pace. But when things get so busy (and stressful), it’s important to remember that there are others who struggle to obtain the same education that we often take for granted. On Jan. […]

Delicious kindness, a change of mindset


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We live in a stop-and-go world. Much of our day is predetermined with a set routine and, at times, we can become so robotic that we forget to set aside time for ourselves. Since it is a new semester, our routine might have changed a bit, but for me I still seem to need to […]

First impressions of Tokyo


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Leading up to my flight across the Pacific Ocean to start my semester abroad, I had no idea what to feel about my (then) upcoming trip to Tokyo and no clue what sort of atmosphere I should expect to feel from the city. At this point, a solid 12 hours have gone by since my plane […]

Five top hikes in L.A.


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If you’re looking to venture off campus to explore Los Angeles one weekend or if you just want to be more active, look no further. Listed here are the best hikes in Los Angeles, based on my personal experience and general popularity. Disclaimer: None of these hikes are located just a few miles from campus, […]

Coming face-to-face with snow-covered warriors


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On the morning of Jan. 3, I found myself in the heart of Kanazawa City doing a sort of hop-skip on the snow, trying to keep my boots from sinking in too deep. Kanazawa is known for being a treasure chest of relics dating back to Edo period Japan, when it was part of a […]