In China, Spring Festival refers to the vacation occurring during and after the lunar New Year. This year we got two weeks off school for it, and I spent the first week traveling through Thailand with my friend Meagan, who is studying in Hong Kong this semester. To summarize, it was a wild ride. Below is my actual itinerary, which bears little resemblance to the … Continue reading Travel the World or Thai Trying
For my Intercultural Competencies class, one of the longest assignments we had to complete was a 20-item scavenger hunt through Shanghai. The items ranged from buying a metro card to eating Shanghainese dumplings (fried instead of steamed like typical dumplings) to going to a water town. We also went on several cultural field trips and company visits, which were amazing alternatives to class lectures. I’ll … Continue reading (Shang)Highlights from the First Month
Hellloooo from Shanghai!! As I write this, I am watching the sunset for the first time since I arrived. It looks like a pink bouncy ball and briefly disappeared behind a building that I couldn’t see through the smog, but after 3 weeks of rainy/cloudy/smoggy days, it’s a welcome site. I really meant to write this first post earlier, but being in a city this … Continue reading First Impressions
As I have shared my plans for the upcoming semester with friends and family, the first question is always “Why China?” I am a Spanish minor without any experience learning Chinese, and my major offers semester-long programs in both Spain and Colombia. In deciding where to go, I contemplated the many reasons people study abroad and which I identified most with. I thought about language … Continue reading Why China?
Ilana Abroad 