Thoughts from My Family’s Perspective
One of the first things I thought about when I first entertained the notion of studying abroad is what my family would think of my trip. Prior to my trip, I had never even been on an airplane, much less traveled out of the country. Surprisingly, my family was extremely supportive of my desire to study abroad, but they still had a few concerns and feelings about me going to India. My family’s initial thoughts ranged from...
Excursion to Hong Kong
The study abroad faculty-led program that I chose took us around China and Vietnam. We started in Shanghai, China where we learned about the cultural aspects of China and its people. We also visited one of Colgate’s factories: Colgate Sanxiao in Yangzhou City. Then, we took a plane to Shenzhen, China. We spent most of that whole day traveling to Shenzhen, and the program allowed us to have the rest of the day to explore the city....
Early Morning Tai Chi
This is the first picture that was photographed of me abroad. It was taken by one of my friends on the trip with me after we had done tai chi in a park with some of the locals. Everyone in the program had just arrived in our first destination, Shanghai, on our study abroad program the day before. The time difference caused a lot of us to wake up early. We had a lot of time to explore before our first classroom session, so two of us...
Why study abroad in Asia?
A year ago when I was deciding where I wanted to attend college, my school counselor laid out a list of common deciding factors that were supposed to help me decide. There were the obvious ones like the location of the university and its surrounding atmosphere, the types of majors the university has, and the overall campus life. Then, there was study abroad programs that a university offers. Study abroad? I wasn’t interested....
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...
How to Bargain in India
You may think you’re good at bargaining, but even the most savvy, budget-conscious, stubborn negotiator can learn some valuable skills from the average corner shop owner in India. They are masters of their art, sizing you up from the moment you walk in their store filled with tapestries, goblets, textiles, you name it, you can find it. They make friends with you, speaking multiple languages to discover which one you speak, maybe...