Tanzanian Bonds of Friendship
Has it been easy making friends in Tanzania? Well it’s certainly been a wild ride. Tanzanian culture is by nature, very friendly. It is up to one’s self to decide which friendliness is genuine and what is simply good marketing to… READ MORE →
A Land of Culture Shock
To most, Southeast Asia could be considered the land of culture shock. There is no place more different in culture and lifestyle than the other side of the world, Thailand. Even menial tasks become a shock to the senses, an… READ MORE →
Pushing Your Limits: The Value of Study Abroad
Here’s a graph about culture shock, which should seem familiar since it pops up on this blog a lot. I’d really like to start this post with: I hate this graph. “Hate” is a strong word, I know. If… READ MORE →
“We have scars”: Remembering and moving on in post-War Belgrade
Author’s note: I am a journalism student, so I wrote this in partial fulfillment of an assignment for my study abroad program on April 23rd, the anniversary of a bombing that killed 16. The NATO bombings are a sensitive topic… READ MORE →
Confusing Times
I have never been so confused about my future, and it’s wonderful! Before I came to Turkey I thought I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I had it all figured out. After I got my bachelor’s… READ MORE →
Traveling: The Push to Success
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 →
Living with the Maasai
The Maasai are an incredibly fascinating people, living off the land as pastoralists. They have managed to tightly hold on to their culture, despite the western influence constantly pushed upon them. It wasn’t until the last 15 years that the… READ MORE →
Serbia-Kosovo relations and sport: opening the global playing field
April 6th was International Day of Sport for Peace and Development. For that reason, I’ve included selections from a recent focus story I wrote for my study abroad program on the role sport is playing in Serbia-Kosovo relations, independence, state… READ MORE →
The 28th Rule
I finished “40 Rules of Love” by the Turkish author Elif Shafak last week. The book is named for the 40 Rules of Love formulated by Shams of Tabriz, a famous Sufi (Muslim mystic). He was most famous for his… READ MORE →
The Swimmer
“The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G. K. Chesterton Reverse culture shock – strange term, right? The… READ MORE →