Studying abroad terrifies me, perhaps even more so than it does the average person, and perhaps even more than it really should. I’m naturally a quiet person, an introvert. For every hour I spend in the “real world,” I like… READ MORE →
Home Sweet Home
Now that I am back in America, I feel like I never left to go to Korea. However, I am not the same person I was before. The high speed subway train, Korean language, food, and urban culture—all of these… READ MORE →
Yonsei coming to an end
Towards the end of my study abroad program at Yonsei, I realized that so much has changed in my life. After weeks of studying and exploring Seoul, I am able to identify with several aspects of cultural shock. Since I… READ MORE →
That’s all: the end from a dhal in Nepal
Week old henna stains the front and back of my left hand. Brown, beautiful, and intricate, the under part of my hand’s design has begun to fade, thanks to climbing chalk and abrasive beach sand. I am back on the… READ MORE →
Russia: A Palatial History
Generally speaking, it seems logical that the Soviet period of Russian history has had the longest lasting effect on the stereotypical American perspective of the current Russian Federation, purely because it represents, for many Americans, the most recent characterization of… READ MORE →
An introduction to the frustrations of Russian language
All together, my trip from Jersey’s suburbs to St. Petersburg, Russia amounted to approximately 15 hours of travel. Partially the function of my seemingly perpetual jetlag, my first few days in Petersburg were almost inexpressibly overwhelming. I arrived with over… READ MORE →
Carnaval – Part 2
The first night passed pretty quickly… I didn’t know anybody, and my Portuguese still wasn’t too good, but it didn’t matter, I just kept having the same little conversation with innumerable people, about where I came from, growing up in… READ MORE →
A Stranger in Taiwan
“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the… READ MORE →
Define Homesick
A couple days ago we were talking about the impending end of our program and one of the other girls asked me if I was homesick. I think I surprised both of us with my answer because I said no. … READ MORE →
Into the Moroccan Countryside
Our third and final excursion was to a small village near Beni Mallal in a region of Morocco known for high immigration rates to Europe. Even though it was a village with all that that entails: dirt streets, cows, and… READ MORE →