Hope for the Future

A couple of days ago I was talking with my groupmates about the future. We are supposed to graduate this May and we were discussing our plans. One girl said that she declined a job opportunity from a company in San Diego in order to return to the Bay Area to live closer to her family. She said that she wants family support; she loves adventures and traveling, but she prefers to be more of a homebody.

I was surprised by it, because in our field it is hard to find a good full-time job. However, on the other hand it is understandable. Finding your comfort zone is very important to succeed in life — especially when your relatives support you.

However, I’ve always thought that challenging yourself is the main point to be successful in this life. As a Russian international student, I live thousands of miles from my family, my best friends, my lovely room and my comfy bed. And I do not regret it. I got so much experience and new skills in every aspect of life, that I would not change even a bit of my current life.

Redefining My Comfort Zone

I have always had the desire for adventure and for traveling. I grew up in Illinois and after moving to San Diego, I fell so in love with my new home that I did not think I could leave it for a full semester. As I was finishing my second year, though, I realized that experiencing a new culture, long term, was something I needed to do.

I also felt that while I only needed one class to complete my Spanish minor, I was not fluent. So I began searching through Central and South American countries. Since I did not plan to go abroad as a freshman, I actually did not have as many options to choose from. Luckily I did find a program at Universidad Veritas, San Jose, Costa Rica. The semester runs from March to the end of June.

Since I rented my house in San Diego for fall semester, I packed up my bags and left early January to move to San Jose.

Living in Debt

I’ve been thinking a lot about writing this post. The reason is simple: Before I moved to the United States, I always thought about the ways of life in Russia and the US as being similar. However, that was a big mistake.

It turns out that, in one very big way, people here are way different than people in the country where I was born and raised.

Ten Observations About Chile

I have noticed a few things about Chilean culture during my first month here. Here are 10 things that have stuck out to me during my time in Santiago.

The Greatest Gift of Life

“The greatest gift of life is friendship, and I received it.” —Hubert Humphrey

I want to dedicate this post to a simple but very important thing: friendship. Moving to another country, I left all my friends in Russia. I still chat with them, but sometimes you need someone around — a person with whom you can hang out, go to watch movies or celebrate something.

On Pura Vida and New Friendships in Costa Rica

Hola! Greetings from Cafe Milagro in beautiful Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. Cafe Milagro is a Coffee shop founded by a few college students in the 1990s. Located along the main road that connects the towns of Quepos and Manuel Antonio is where you can find this sweet spot full of tropical plants, a good meal and all the locally grown coffee you can drink (if you are anything like me then that’s a lot).

Welcoming Adventures in Santiago, Chile

During the first couple of days in Santiago, I was fortunate to have plans with a club from my university that helps exchange students feel more welcome in Chile. Also, I was able to go on a trip with a group of exchange students that was hosted by a coordinator who is a Santiago native.

Here some photos from my introduction to my new host country!

From Venezuela to the U.S., Violence Casts a Long Shadow

A daily routine like going to class is becoming harder and scarier for the younger generation in this country. Young people are being shaped by an environment that has become more stressful and painful than enjoyable and rich. This year in the U.S., there have been more mass shootings than days itself.

I was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, one of the most dangerous cities in the world. It’s a place where violence is experienced daily in everyone’s life, or at least to someone related to you. Over the past few years the wave of emigration from Venezuela has been abrupt due to high rates of violence and crime, mixed with political problems that have deteriorated the quality of life in every way possible — and even violated the human rights of most Venezuelans.

From Known to Unknown

I was really amazed by all the papers you need fill out just to graduate in the United States. Back in my country it is as simple as can be.

To say a bit about educational system in Russia, it is way different than here. First of all, all of our classes are mandatory. We could not arrange our schedule, or choose to take class in one semester or in another. Our schedule is made by our department and you must attend every class.

Live a Day in My Homesick French Girl Life!

9 a.m.
I wake up because of my phone vibrations.

It may be 9 a.m. here, but it’s 7 p.m. in France. My friends and family may have sent me messages during the night, but I always wake up to the last vibrations of my phone.

Maybe it’s because my subconscious knows that I only have few remaining hours to talk to them before they go to bed.