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...
Vegetables and Dessert in Shanghai
Wow. That’s one word I can use to sum up my time so far in Shanghai. I’ll give you the vegetables first: You’re going to read that the air quality in Shanghai, and most major cities in China, sucks. You’d be right about that. It takes getting used to. You walk around the city and randomly smell excrement, tobacco smoke, or exhaust in any combination, at all times. So that’s fun. I’m only in Shanghai for 8 weeks. This unfortunate fact...
Here We Go: Shanghai
Hi! I’m traveling to Shanghai, China in a couple of weeks. I’ll be there for 8 weeks. When I thought about studying abroad, I never imagined that I would be going to China, let alone Asia. When I was trying to figure out where I wanted to study, I realized I had never been to Asia. I’ve traveled to the United Kingdom and Australia. So I thought “I’ve never been to Asia before, let’s go to a new place with a very different culture.”...
China: Airplanes, Buffets, and Confucius
After 20 hours of flying, the excitement of landing on the other side of the world hit as I exchanged my money for Yuan and walked into the crowded Shanghai airport. My time in China was an amazing experience of culture and business through my STEM Path to the MBA Program. While there was a lot of culture shock including language barriers and eating habits, my time in China was at all times an exciting and enjoyable adventure. One...
ありがとう、日本！
I’ve wanted to study abroad in Japan since I was in middle school, so of course I was very excited when I first got there. I found that month by month my excitement slowly became replaced by comfort and familiarity, and as I adjusted to Japan it became home to me. Its society, my classes, and the friends I’d made from around the world helped me to grow as a person in more ways than I expected. First, I became more patient. Japanese...