I open my eyes to bright sunlight beaming in through the barred windows of my dorm room. The sun rises at about 6:30 every single morning, and by 7 it’s bright enough to wake me up. I climb out of my mosquito net, and grab my water bottle and toothbrush and take two steps across …
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Rooting for the Home Team – Lions win!
A month or so ago, very soon after my arrival in Philly, I had a few TPC colleagues talking of how cool it would be to go to an Eagles game while here. This seemed, at the time, like a pretty rare opportunity with how big the Eagles are, and now I know – it …
Comfort vs Chaos: Why You Should Always be a Beginner at Something
It’s been eighty degrees and sunny all week here in Paris, and it feels like the end of spring—not the beginning of fall. However, assignments, tests, and homework are here to remind me that it is, in fact, the turn of the season into a new academic year. Starting school at IES Abroad in Paris …
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Mental Breakdowns Happen–My First and Second Culture Shock Moments
Before I begin, I’m writing this about a month removed since I’ve hopped on a plane and moved to Sharjah, and I LOVE IT HERE. So don’t let these mental breakdowns discourage you. They’re natural. They’re going to happen. But that doesn’t mean you didn’t make the right choice. So these are excerpts from my …
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Human Rights Alive in NYC
Much of our time in New York City was spent laying the foundations of human rights and traveling to different sites to see human rights work alive in NYC. When referring to human rights work, it’s important to distinguish the difference between Human Rights (HR) at an institutional level versus human rights (hr) at a …
Far From Home But Never Alone
Before coming to Tanzania, I had a lot of questions about a lot of things, and so did most of my family and friends considering I had never traveled to Africa before and the longest I had ever been outside the U.S. was two weeks. One of the most common questions I was asked before coming …
Secular Sanctuary
Last week I visited St. Paul’s Cathedral, or should I say St. Paul’s V. The very first St. Paul’s was founded by a monk in 604 AD. Now, in the middle of a sea of lumbering office buildings, rises the unmistakable dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral. The architect, Christopher Wren, oversaw the construction of this …
A Weekend for the (History) Books
There is no better way to explore the city than to attend Campus Philly’s annual CollegeFest! It is a super cool event where college students are given free admission to visit over thirteen museums, all over the city. A friend of mine from the Center, Binny, and I hit about four different museums – the Rodin …
Learning the Comical Way
I think it goes without saying that East Africa is a very different place from West Michigan and the U.S., in general, and this is something I knew coming in to my study abroad experience. However, I wasn’t sure in what ways specifically, but I am quickly learning. A lot of cultural differences can’t be …
Week Two & A Lot is New
When I thought there weren’t enough changes happening already, it turns out that week two is when real life really kicks in. It’s the week when you’re already out on your own – navigating the streets of Philly, signing a lease, moving into a new apartment, attending a new church, exploring different parks, trying different …
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