Saigon paints a deep and intricate portrait of the past; it just takes looking a little closer. The streets, as in other Vietnamese cities, are typically named after heroes and heroines that contributed significantly to Vietnam and its history. Of the 3,600 roads crisscrossing Saigon, many carry fictional stories of ancient utopian cities, while others …
After an entire month of traversing essentially the entirety of Chile, I was definitely ready to get back into the routine of being a student. However, to take a page from The Wizard of Oz’s book, “we’re not at Loyola anymore.” School in Chile, and more specifically at Universidad Alberto Hurtado, is kind of wild. …
Here it is finally: my blog post for my first trip of the semester! Took me a while to sit down and write it properly… Kraków, Poland January 26th-31st. I never in a million years thought I would travel to Poland, let alone Kraków, a city I had never even heard of. There wasn’t any …
6 weeks left. I can’t believe my flight from Saigon back to Chicago leaves in exactly 6 weeks from now. Sometimes it feels like I have 6 more months to go, and sometimes it feels like I’m supposed to have left already. My outfits have consisted of colorful pants and too-sweaty t-shirts, I have a …
The average college students Spring break is normally spent with dozens of their closest friends, traveling to a tropical place involving lots of sun, sleep, and partying- right? As the non traditional girl I am, I traveled to 50 degree weather – 18 degrees for the non North Americans- France with nothing but my laptop, …
Vietnam is not a country that is easy to categorize or define. It is a place full of perplexing contradictions and subtly hidden answers to them. Despite living here for two months now, the only thing I feel like I can accurately portray to everyone at home about Vietnam is everything I do not understand. …
Hi all! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post. I apologize for not writing on this blog more than I should. I write more on my personal blog. If you would like to read that blog, I will post a link down below when I finish writing this. But anyways, happy …
(I’m sorry … that title was painful to type… ) ANYWAYS … three weekends ago, I got the opportunity to go on a study trip to Malta with 18 other JFRC students !! First of all … what are ‘study trips’? Well, they are these trips that JFRC plans each semester and all you have …
Not District 10 of the Hunger Games, but district 10 of HCMC. Before I left for Vietnam, I had no expectations, few prior judgments, and honestly no clue of what I would find upon my arrival. While I want to give an accurate picture of what the Vietnam program is like, at least from what …
I have now been in Buenos Aires for almost two weeks – Thankfully this program started late, giving me a little over a month and a half at home – and even though I know Chicago has had quite a few warm days since I’ve been gone, I can’t help but miss the cold. I …