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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

A few cultural differences between the U.S. and the U.K.


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I have to admit that in my choice of study abroad destinations, I chose a country relatively similar to the United States. The United Kingdom shares not only a language with America, but many other qualities. But this, I think, just makes the subtler differences stand out more sharply in contrast than in a place where […]

Truffles in Assisi, Italy


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About two hours south of Florence by car is the picturesque hilltop city of Assisi in the region of Umbria. Though well known for the Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi with the works of famous Italian artist, Giotto, I was especially eager to visit Assisi because of what it’s famous for producing: truffles. Not to get […]

La Prima Cena a Firenze


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  After 30+ hours of sleepless travel, we finally arrived in the land of endless plates of pasta and pizza — Italy. With orientation starting right as we stepped into the hotel, I felt like a kindergartener on the first day of school. The next day was the big day: meeting the Italian family I […]

Tea and biscuits


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Hello from across the pond! As of Monday, I have officially begun my semester study abroad in London. While everything right now is still very new, beautiful and British, I’m slowly adjusting to the cultural differences. Luckily, one of the first truly British cultural experiences I got to indulge in was one of the best […]

What study abroad means to me


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  So I’m a fifth-year undergrad, and I did it solely in order to participate in USC’s yearlong study abroad program in Santiago, Chile. I had put these plans aside during my junior year because I thought James Franco was going to springboard my career into Hollywood or whatever, and then again in my senior […]