Headed to Bordeaux!
Hi everyone, my name is Evans Johnson and I am a senior at The University. I have decided to spend my first semester in the beautiful city of Bordeaux, France at KEDGE University. I write this post as I sit waiting at the airport for the flight that will take me on my next adventure! This was a difficult decision for me as this would be last fall semester on campus. I had to make the terribly hard decision on whether to miss football...
Oh, Humidity
The morning above London. I’ve been home for two weeks now, and they have been slightly rough. A few days after getting back I woke up one morning to realize that I, unfortunately, took some germs back home with me from the ride back. Jet lag was nowhere in sight, I would have rather had jet lag for a week than a cold. I did start to feel better the beginning of this week and decided to venture more outside. Let’s just say...
The City of New Beginnings: Shanghai
For the longest time, I always struggled with being true to myself yet I was always subconsciously running away from and ignoring it, scared that maybe what I found when I looked hard enough into myself would be someone I really didn’t like at all. And a lot of that insecurity came at a time when I suddenly felt pressured to lose one identity in place of another. When the Asian upbringing my parents used to raise me conflicted with...
Around and Back Again
Well, I’ve come full circle. I have traveled to China and returned home all in one piece. I honestly missed the United States. Breakfast food, potato chips in certain flavors, driving, trees, and the sky are all things as aspects of life at home that I missed. My first stop after getting back from the airport was the nearest Waffle House. My experience abroad definitely changed me in a positive way. I am more confident and...
Advice for Future Students
The main piece of advice I would give students is to take full advantage of your study abroad experience. Take a step outside of your comfort zone and do things you would not normally do. Experience the local culture by immersing yourself completely. This means trying foods that you normally would not and talking to new people. During my trip, I worked on a team with people from Cyprus and Iran. I was able to learn so much about their...
My Academic Experience in Portugal
Studying abroad has been an amazing experience so far. It is a very different experience taking classes here in Portugal. The biggest difference is the type of class I am enrolled in here. I am participating in the European Innovation Academy which is a 3 week expo where you work on a team of 5 people to create and pitch a potential startup. This is great because I get the opportunity to work with and meet people from around the...