My Solo Trip through Central Eastern Europe

Greetings from Hungary, everybody!

These past few weeks have been some of the best days out here on my journey. To start, I have been getting closer with my friends from the program.

To highlight a few of them, I will start with my friend Batu, from Turkey. He is here studying engineering in his third year of college. He never learned English in school; he is actually self taught in it. He has learned a good amount of phrases but struggles a lot speaking with those who have studied it and with me who has practiced it all throughout my life. Although we have a language barrier we have become close tight knit friends.

We have broken down the walls between us to share personal stories about who we are, where we come from and what we aspire to in life. We now call each other “best friends” which I really believe, because we have earned each other’s trust.

Driven to Learn About Hungary

Hi everybody! Or in Hungarian … szia!

Time is flying and it is already October! It feels like I just arrived yesterday, yet I have made so many wonderful memories here. I cannot believe I am still here in Pécs, Hungary. I feel that my experience and time only gets better as the days go by.

I am Finally International!

Greetings from Hungary!!!

Wow, I am finally here and it has in every single way exceeded all expectations that I held for this wondrous journey to Pécs, Hungary.  Immediately on my arrival to Budapest and traveling to Pécs, I met other international students studying in the same city as me. I asked them how it was in Pécs and they gave me descriptions of a beautiful city with rich history, a great ambience and lovely people. They were not wrong at all.

Back from Hong Kong, Feeling Like a Changed Person

It’s been a week since I’ve returned and wow are things different.

In these few lines of my last blog post, I would like to talk about how study abroad affected me as well as tell you a little more about Hong Kong. If you are thinking about studying abroad in Hong Kong or would just like to learn a lot more about it, I’d also want this to be your best resource.

First, here’s Hong Kong through my eyes.

The Opportunity of a Lifetime

Greetings, everybody!

My name is Mauro Abel Ordiano. I’m writing this on Aug. 26, the day before I am off on my adventure to Hungary at the University of Pécs

My Research Program in Hong Kong

Hello again!

In case you have not read my last post, I shall introduce myself again: my name is Sarah and I am a biology major and psychology minor. I’m going into my fourth year this fall and this summer I’m studying abroad in Hong Kong! My study abroad is unique because I am not taking any classes — instead I’m doing research through the Undergraduate Summer Research Program at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Thank You, Japan

Well, my stay in this country has ended.

I have to say that my life in Japan has been absolutely amazing. Though it definitely was not easy at first, I found that some of the most difficult things to do in life are the things that are worth doing. Being as introverted as I am, and having never even left my home state before, it was a big jump to travel across the world all on my own. Yet, I stepped over 5,000 miles outside my comfort zone to live in a country that — in almost every way — is completely opposite from mine.

For three and a half months.

Ding Ding Smile — Welcome to Hong Kong!

“Ding ding” is what the buses are called here; one of the many names Hong Kongers use where sounds are incorporated into the naming. Aside from the names, there were many other things that shocked me upon arriving and for the last three weeks that I’ve been here.

But before I dive in, let me backtrack a little so you have a better idea of who I am. My name is Sarah and I’m a fourth-year biology major and psychology minor. If you’re a biology major, you know how hard it is to study abroad due to our course requirements and schedule — but I made it!

Exploring Japan

For this post, I would like to take some time and appreciate what Japan has to offer. So, I will take you on a journey to some of the places I’ve explored while studying abroad in Japan.

観光をしょう！

It’s the Little Things in Life

Obviously, when traveling across the ocean to live on the other side of the world, you find that things tend to be quite different. Sure there are the obvious differences you find here in Japan, like temperature being measured in Celsius, the use of the metric system and driving on the left side of the road.

However, there are so many little things that I’ve noticed that I find rather interesting. Here are some unexpected differences that I found while living in Tokyo!