Coming to Cuzco has been one of the best decisions I’ve made in my college career! My Spanish skills have improved by far more than they have in any of my other Spanish classes and I have been able to easily navigate the city and daily life. While I will always be a gringo, I have become very comfortable here very quickly.
My favorite thing to do in Cuzco is eat. The food here is very good, albeit heavily potato, chicken, and rice based. I haven’t had a single meal here that didn’t have one of these three foods as an ingredient. The pizza here is also very different but very good. All of the pizzeria’s here give you a creamy garlic sauce, hot sauce, and occasionally a black olive sauce to drizzle on your pizza. As odd as these may seem I would highly recommend trying all of them. I have yet to eat pizza in Cuzco that I didn’t like.
Of everything I’ve seen in Peru, my favorite view had to be from the top of the Pachamama mountain in Lake Titicaca. Getting to see everything from the surrounding islands to the distant mountains in Bolivia was amazing. Capping of the experience was getting to watch the sun set from the top of the mountain and looking at the stars and eventually the milky way as the sun receded. Even if the rest of my trip is awful, my visit to Pachamama mountain would have made this all worthwhile.

The food in China is great, I can as much as I want and I am still losing weight. I ate hot pot for first time yesterday and it was a great experience. Very delicious.

I have not got used to the random stares by Chinese people. Which is not what I am used to. But it is cool sometimes and I don’t mind the attention. But China has been fun and a great experience so far

When I first decided to study abroad, I had no idea what it all entailed. Next thing I know, I’ve been thrown into this crazy process of preparing to go abroad. I decided on the Czech Republic for 9 weeks. I had no idea what to expect. Frankly, I didn’t think a whole lot about what it was like once I got over here. I was too preoccupied trying to make sure I had all my paperwork and everything turned in. Many were shocked I chose such a long program even though I didn’t know anyone and had never been to Europe before, but I’m incredibly happy with my decision. My first piece of advice? Don’t wait on friends to commit with you to go.

Force yourself completely out of your comfort zone. In my third party program’s words, “You paid to come over here and immerse yourself in a completely new culture. You’re going to be uncomfortable at times, and that’s ok. It’s how you handle being uncomfortable that helps you grow as an individual.” It’s two days in, and I have already made numerous friends within my program and we’re all having a blast! I have toured many parts of the city already including the Lennon Wall, Charles Bridge, and Prague Castle. Most of the other students came by themselves as well, so we are all looking to make friends on the fly. My second piece of advice? Go on spontaneous adventures! Whether it’s to try a new restaurant or visit a historical site, the spontaneous adventures have a tendency to be the best adventures!

Although Europe has some similarities with America, it most definitely has its differences. In housing, we have no clothes dryer and no A/C. The bathrooms are much smaller, but it makes you realize how “extra” America can be with housing. At first I thought the Czechs seemed stand-offish, but I learned they simply don’t interact how Americans do. As Americans, we tend to smile a lot, show lots of emotion, and be friendly to strangers. The Czechs are not stand-offish at all, they simply have their own day to go about and respect that you do too. That being said, whenever I have needed help with the tram or public transportation, they have always been very willing to help me out! There is a lot more English speakers than I expected, but I’m of course trying my hand at Czech. It’s a bit of a struggle currently, but I’m hoping I’ll get there. My third piece of advice? Do your best to learn the native language! You may feel like you’re butchering their language (I know I do!), but they seem to truly appreciate our efforts.

I’m already loving it here, I can’t wait to see where the rest of this adventure takes me!

So I am studying at John Cabot University for six weeks this summer, and I am here to update you on the lessons I’ve learned in the little time I’ve been here.

1. Social Norms are Different

We all knew this would be the case, but I’ll just key you in on some things to be aware of. You don’t tip (It’s just not customary and I’m guessing they factor a “tip” in your bill?), people do not smile at you if you pass them, NO ONE wears shorts, and t-shirts are simply not an item in their closet.

2. Technology Isn’t the Same

Above everything, make sure you bring an outlet adapter. They have different outlets, so your regular phone charger will not work without an adapter. Also, basically everything technology wise is different here. Everything is smaller (oven, microwave, washer, etc.). Electricity is very expensive here, so you have to be aware of how many things you have plugged in. Dishawashers and driers are not a thing (uses too much electricity; you put dishes on a drying rack and dry clothes on a rack or clothes line). Air conditioning is also nonexistent in most places, so fans are your best friend.

3. You Have 1000 Different Trash Cans

Italy has banned trash incinerators, and because of this, need to dispose of their trash very efficiently because they have limited space and lots of people. Due to this, you have around eight different trash cans for plastic/metal, paper, compost, glass, etc. All of these need to be put out on different days to be picked up, and if you put out the wrong item, you will be fined.

4. Be Ready to Walk

Despite how this sounds, this is one of my favorite parts of studying here. Everyone walks because everything is so close together. There’s no, “Let’s drive down the street to get something to eat”. You simply walk ten minutes in either direction and you are bombarded with 100 restaurants, a grocery, and anything else you need. If something is too far, take the tram or best (also going to be your best friend).

5. Pasta & Pizza are Their Own Food Group

I kid you not, 90% of the restaurants in Rome are pizzerias. You have to really search if you wants something other than carbs on carbs. I have discovered a small mexican joint called Pico’s, a sandwich shop called Donkey Punch, and a delicious sushi restaurant called Coffee Pot. If all you want to eat is pasta, pizza, and bruschetta, you will never have a limited supply. You will also never be deprived of gelato, as there are 1000 places to get that as well. Also, get wine with every meal you can, trust me.

There are definitely more lessons I could share, but I’ll leave them up to you to figure them out. Overall, I can honestly say Trastevere, Rome is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to, and I’m in love with all it’s cobblestone streets and twists and turns. You will definitely not regret coming here.

The first week in China was difficult for me, I had to adjust to a lot of different sleeping schedule and adjust to it being completely different from the US. It has been a week and I feel like I have finally adjusted to it and I am feeling better about things. I went on a tour of shanghai with my study abroad group and saw some very cool things. Shanghai is a really nice city.

As a student pursuing a dual-degree at the European Business School in Germany, I have the unique privilege of spending three semesters abroad. I began Part 1 of 3 on January 4^th and I marked the end on May 28^th. With each of these flights, something very similar – and very stressful – happened. I missed the last connection for the final leg of the journey. I want to reflect on both so that someone may find humor and perhaps advice from my experience.

I moved abroad on January 4, 2019. At a total of 13 hours for the trip, it was my longest to that point and the one for which I was most excited. It seemed to be pretty straightforward – Louisville to DC, 2-hour layover, DC to Munich, 1.5-hour layover, Munich to Frankfurt. And it was. For the first connection. However, on the trans-Atlantic flight, it began to snow in southern Germany. By the time we were set to land, snow and ice had layered on the runway. They had to scrape the runway before we could land. First obstacle. Then, once off, I had to go through Customs and Border Control before racing to my gate. But only, that gate was no longer my gate. I went to the service desk for updated information, and I was sent to the other side of the airport. I hurried off only to find that even though the new gate had a plane going to Frankfurt, it wasn’t “my plane.” Second obstacle. I raced to the service desk, only to be told that “my gate” was four down from the original, on the other side of the airport. I made an honest effort to make it back but came up short. First setback. The only thing to do in this situation is to go to the main service desk, explain what happened, make some fake tears fall down your face (reserve this for if they think it was your fault that you missed the connection), and negotiate to get a new ticket. This is exactly what I did to a resounding success. Except for one thing. No flights could accommodate me, so I was forced to take a 4-hour train from Munich to Frankfurt. Second setback. After two further weather delays of my trains, I arrived at my apartment in the small community of Oestrich-Winkel.

Now in my five months abroad, I came to really enjoy and appreciate Oestrich-Winkel, Germany, and Europe. However, I was excited about the chance to come home for the summer to see friends and family. As such, I booked a flight – Frankfurt to Amsterdam, 1.5-hour layover, Amsterdam to Detroit, 1.5-hour layover, Detroit to Louisville. As before, the first connection went as planned. I boarded my trans-Atlantic flight, got settled in for the long trip, and was anxious to be back on American ground (how naïve to think it would be easy). We were sitting on the runway in Amsterdam, waiting for clearance to take off, when a young man alerted the flight attendants that he was having chest pains and needed to get off the plane. So, as before, the notion that this would be a no-issue flight went out the window. We had to taxi back to the runway, get him off, find his checked bags in the luggage hold, refuel the aircraft, and cool down the brakes. Altogether, this process delayed our flight by about an hour. Unfortunately, this only left 30 minutes for me to alight, go through Customs, find my checked bag and recheck it, go back through security, and find my way to the correct gate. Needless to say, I missed my final plane by about 45 minutes. Thankfully, I had the experience needed to handle this. I marched to the main service desk, explained what happened, and negotiated for a new ticket as before. I landed back in Louisville at 9:30 pm, ready to start the summer!

Conclusion: delays can and probably will happen. Flights can and probably will be missed. Keep calm and put on a smile (or tears, depending on the situation) and ask for a new ticket. Before long, you’ll be on your way again, loaded with a wonderful story to tell your folks and a perfect subject for your travel blogs!

Moving abroad and becoming a member of a new community and culture is very exciting. The “need” to do and see everything immediately can be overwhelming. Questions like “when should I travel,” “what other countries should I visit,” and “why shouldn’t I skip class to sightsee” can quickly take up home in one’s mind. Through all of these thoughts, one must take a moment to step back and reflect on the purpose of going abroad. Yes, of course, one should take in all of the sights and experience the culture, but one’s studies cannot get lost in the haze. If you want a perfect balance, my biggest piece of advice is this: learn the expectations of the class and the formatting of the examination, be very liberal with the time commitment expectations, and only then, plan your fun stuff.

I make this recommendation from personal experience. No, I am not a bad student. No, I didn’t skip class. But yes, I could have avoided a LOT of stress and days of no sleep if someone had told me this from the beginning. The biggest surprise to me was that my school doesn’t give midterms or homework. The course grade is determined by one’s performance on a final exam (and no, they weren’t multiple choice exams; they were all short response and essay format) or a presentation. Also, please realize that not all classes should be given the same time commitment. Some exams are easy, like my data analysis course, where we could bring a cheat sheet. Other are not. Take, for example, my investments course, which is the hardest course I’ve taken in college. I found the course very interesting, and I felt pretty confident that I could do well with only a few hours of studying the day before the exam. With all of that confidence, I took extended trips to nearby countries and surrounding cities whenever free. I never turned down dinner out with friends, a drink at the bar, or a long, nightly Netflix session. That was until about two weeks before the exam, when I learned from older students that only five students of about 100 passed the exam (before the professor was required to adjust the scores) the previous semester. Calm turned into panic, confidence into fear. Over the next 14 days and 8 exams, I drank approximately 45 cups of tea, 12 bottles of wine, ate 6 bags of Snickers bars, and pulled 3 all-nighters.

For the sake of your mind and body, please learn the expectations and learn them well. You’ll thank me later.

Arriving to China was very cool, the flight was not that bad, the movie selection was pretty good. I wish I would have slept more on the flight. I got in late Saturday night. Making sure your phone is unlocked is important,mine was not unlocked when I first arrived. i bought a SIM card and portable WiFi device at the airport, I would not recommend doing this. The people helping run the program will help you set up a phone plan while you are here and a bank account. Unlocking your phone is not very hard if you forgot to do it before you arrive, just google how to do it, or you get someone here to do it. I got suckered into a black market taxi and paid way to much for a taxi but it’s okay I learned a valuable lesson. They have an app call “didi” which is like Chinese Uber which someone used to get from the airport to campus. But once I arrived at my destination I got out of the car and just started walking and did not know where I was going at all but thankfully someone saw me and stopped me and helped me. Took me to the right way and helped me all the way to my room. Without her I don’t know what I would have done. Her name is Ma Pu she is Japanese and studying Chinese. I am hoping to see again. The first couple nights I woke up every morning about 4 and I only have been sleeping about 4 hours. Last night (which it is not Tuesday as I am writing this)I finally got some good rest and I feel a lot better today. I am enjoying it here in Shanghai it is a lot different and some people will stare at you