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.

Living Dreams and Nightmares at the Cape Coast Castle

My life story is filled to the brim with pivotal points. Many losses, gains, transfers and complete rebirths within my path have made me feel more than prepared for any change that will inevitably come. And yet the entire week before touring the Cape Coast slave castle, I felt an utter hopelessness in finding any way to prepare myself. How do you look your people’s enslavement in the face, and keep your own straight?

You don’t. You can’t.

A Dichotomous City

There is a stark dichotomy in my neighborhood between decaying and ripening. The buildings are unraveling at the seams; the trees are growing. Death and life collaborate, producing resilience.

I came here to study resilience, and Tbilisi, Georgia itself is teaching me how to keep moving forward.

Walking Through World History

I’m sitting in the airport right now, about to board my plane and go back to the United States in less than an hour. The past 3 weeks don’t even feel real at this point. Did all of that really happen?

Whatever that was, it was the best blur I’ve ever experienced in my entire 21 years of life. I studied abroad in Prague, Czech Republic, in a music and culture program, mainly focusing on Czech and old Czechoslovakian music and culture. I arrived in the Czech Republic a night before my program started and was hit with different words and accents.

Soy Americana

I know what the stereotypical American looks like. The country of my birth identifies me as African-American.  My own country misconstrues my national identity. However, a passage in my passport “requests all whom may be concerned to permit the citizen/national of the United States named herein to pass without delay or hindrance and in case of need to give all lawful aid and protection.”

This is especially contemplative, considering how people of color are treated in the U.S. Traveling abroad, I am no longer a suspicious, hyphenated or sub-American —  I become a fully embodied U.S. citizen.

Amazingly Awesome Jerusalem

Words cannot describe the feeling I had when entering Jerusalem. I know you all are probably tired of hearing me say “amazing,” but it is just that and so much more.

On our return from the Dead Sea, my traveling partners and I decided to do a stop over for the evening and the next day in this beautiful, holy city.

My Three Day Adventure in Cape Coast

Last weekend, we took a trip to Cape Coast, which was one full of many emotions and memories that I will never forget. Cape Coast is the capital of the central region, in south Ghana. It became heavily influenced by the British due to being used as a trading port and its role in the transatlantic slave trade. Although the city is healing from the trauma, it is still struggling economically.

A Visit to Auschwitz

When I first sat down to write about my experience touring the world’s largest Nazi concentration camp, I was seriously lost. My mind was panicking to write something meaningful but not too graphic, yet also sensitive … and I suppose, entertaining? But honestly, Auschwitz is not a story that can be condensed into a 1,000 word blog post. It is a completely unique experience that is a hybrid of confusing, heart-breaking and heavy emotions.

A History Buff’s Dream

It is safe to say that Oxford is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It is amazingly rich in history and culture. The University was first founded in 1096, so every stone in the street feels like it has been there for centuries. Every shop and pub has its own unique charm. So many people have walked these streets including the likes of President Bill Clinton, authors C.S. Lewis and Oscar Wilde, 26 British Prime Ministers including Margret Thatcher, actor Hugh Grant, Stephen Hawking and many, many more.

Exploring Ancient Korea

South Korea has been the most scenic country I ever had the pleasure of visiting.

The streets markets here are warm from the glow of shop signs and busy food stands, hedges and trees line every street, and the palaces that date back to the Joseon Dynasty are absolutely beautiful.