Bearcats on the Road

This week in Paris has been fantastic! I have really grown accustomed to the Parisian lifestyle. Unfortunately, I only have one more week left before I leave for Cape Town, South Africa. However, on a more positive note, it snowed in Paris this week! Although, coming from Pennsylvania that does not sound impressive at all, for Paris it is almost unheard-of to get snow in the winter, let alone any other time during the year. It has definitely been wonderful, as Paris is one of the most beautiful places when it snows. 

Topics: study abroad, Paris, bearcats on the road, snow

This week in Mexico brought some fun times out with the group. 

Topics: Mexico, travel abroad, travel abroad in college, bearcats on the road

I’ve become incredibly comfortable with my routine in the Mexico.

Topics: study abroad, Mexico, travel, travel abroad in college, life, bearcats on the road

This first week in Mexico was quite the adjustment. It’s one thing to learn about culture shock, but another to go to a third world country and experience it. Seeing small children being “street performers” on the side of the street gives you a new perspective and appreciation for everything we have in the states. 

Topics: spanish, study abroad, Mexico, Benedictine

Every day I basically have to pinch myself (multiple times in fact) that I’m actually here LIVING in Spain. For as long as I could remember, I knew I always wanted to study abroad in Spain and, to me, it always felt like a dream of the distant future or a day that would never come. 

Topics: study abroad, Spain, Alcázar Gardens, cathedral, Paige Casario, Seville, Sevilla

In the weeks leading up to my flight, I was asked multiple times, “What made you want to study abroad?” Almost instinctively I’d give the same generic response of, ”To see ways of life different than my own. I want to experience other people's culture on their terms.”

Topics: study abroad, England, Nicole Reitz, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, Edge Hill

When I signed up for World Youth Day in Kraków last fall, I never expected “fear” to be in the equation. I had been to Poland several times previously, and I had never been overly concerned about my personal safety or the safety of others on my trips. Poland, and the rest of Europe, seemed to be a very stable area and so I never gave terrorism another thought. 

Topics: Catholic, faith, pilgrimmage, World Youth Day, Krakow, Helena Shoplik, Poland, Be Not Afraid, Pope John Paul II

This trip to World Youth Day (WYD) 2016 in Kraków, Poland, seemed to come quite suddenly. I had just gotten back from Rome on May 29. However, college is all about making memories and doing as much as possible. 

Topics: Campus Ministry, Pope Francis, Catholic, Anastasia Jaegar, Salt Mine, World Youth Day, Krakow, Poland, Shrine of the Divine Mercy

This is my last post from Bhutan, and I’m writing it from my couch at home in Pennsylvania. I got home late this morning after a 52-hour trip from Bhutan to Thailand to Shanghai to New York to Pittsburgh. As of the moment I’m writing this, I’ve been awake for 18 hours straight, and I don’t plan on sleeping for at least another five (take that, jet lag)! 

Topics: study abroad, Samuel Geer, Bhutan, Tiger's Nest Monastery, jet lag, Paro

The past week has been entirely devoted to directed research. The complement of 22 students in the program were broken up into six different groups whose research groups included both physical and social science topics. Some of the most interesting projects, in my opinion, were: biodiversity in local forests, the growing cordycep (an extremely valuable Himalayan fungi) market, conservation around religious sites and, my own research project, the effects of forestry management practices on local forest stands. 

Topics: nature, study abroad, research, Samuel Geer, Bhutan, presentation, Bumthang