Interesting Hindu Traditions in India
India is home to many religions, Hinduism is the largest percentage, around 80%, followed by Islam ( only 14% of the population, but with almost 200,000,000 adherents, it is the country with the second largest Muslim population after Indonesia), as well as smaller percentages of Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddists, Baha’i’s, and many more. Hinduism has over a million gods and goddesses, most of whom are manifestations of...
Reflection Upon Returning Home
Having spent a few weeks since returning from my study abroad program, I have definitely had time to reflect upon my experiences. During my six weeks in Roatan, Honduras, I learned so much in regards to marine science and field research. It has truly broadened my understanding of the subject and has allowed me to form real world connections to information I all ready learned. Studying the reef systems there has provided me a...
Coming Home
I still can’t believe it’s over. It almost doesn’t feel real that I’m home, like I’m in a dream I’m about to wake up from. I already miss being in Germany and I’ve only been home for a few days. Sure, I did miss my family and friends but I feel like I left part of myself in Germany. Having to readjust to what my life was prior to leaving for Germany has been very hard. I almost didn’t...
Tschuss, Europa!
My journey home was, to say the least, arduous. A long and tiring time-zone-hopping, people-dodging endeavor. I left my Amsterdam hostel (I travelled around Europe a bit after my study abroad program ended) at 3:25 A.M. local time to catch a 3:45 train to the airport. My flight was to Lisbon and left at 6:15, only for me to catch my flight to Boston at 10 Lisbon time. I arrived in Boston at 3 P.M. EST, but my body thought it was 8 or...
Exhausted Expedition (STEM Path Abroad in India)
The reverse culture shock was real. After spending over twenty-four hours in the air and only twelve hours having gone by on my watch, I was finally walking back onto American soil. The smells, sights, and sounds were all familiar to me. It was hard to look back on my experiences right away. It was almost like I needed time for them to soak in before I could honestly reflect on my experiences and expeditions. India is truly a special...
Back to the US
After a month in Cuba I wasn’t ready to leave… I had made some amazing friends and learned so much. However, I had to return to the US. I was excited to go home because I had missed my friends and family and couldn’t wait to tell them about everything I had learned. So when the time had come, I jumped on my flight and was off to the US. I hadn’t expected to have much of a reverse culture shock coming back. I...