I’ve never left the country, never been in an airplane over open water and I’ve definitely never been so far away from home. In one day I won’t be able to say that anymore. In twenty-four hours, I’m about to do something that I didn’t know I was brave enough to do. I know that…
Category: SIT Study Abroad
First Week of Adventure
I have only been away from home for two weeks but it feels like I have been living in Samoa for two months. Our campus looks like an old summer camp surrounded by trees and mountains. In the mornings I can hear my friends waking up and getting ready for class. The campus feels like…
Week One in Samoa
Our first week in Samoa has been busy and adventurous enough to last the whole month. When we first arrived, we all received leis as a welcome and ate a traditional Sammoan breakfast with bananas, breadfruit, bread with peanuts, coconuts, and a local orange juice. I met my roommate for the semester, Ashauna, a indo-Fijian…
Dust in the Eastward Wind
As I brace myself for the immensity of the journey ahead, I look back to my roots; I was born in Germany, with Parents both from Former Yugoslavia. I had the privilege of growing up both in Germany, and the USA, however only visiting the Former Yugoslav region a few times. As I get ready…
Armando Abroad: Pre-Departure
It still hasn’t hit me. I keep saying and explaining to people that “I’m leaving for Jordan in a couple of weeks…yeah, I’ll be there for 3 1/2 months studying Arabic…” but I haven’t yet assimilated that I’m little over a week away from going thousands of miles away to learn a language I know…
Destination #1: Honolulu
Today marks day 1 of travels with two days to go before orientation begins. After traveling about 11 hours to arrive in Honolulu, we have made it to our hostel. Having a few days to get adjusted to the time change and settle in, it did not really feel like leaving when I left. Also…
Jordan, Three Weeks Prior
As the summer winds down, I find myself increasingly anxious about my departure to Jordan. The weeks of this summer have passed under ceaseless study of Islam and the Middle Eastern region, however, with a focus toward Turkey. Jordan is different. As the son of an Arab, I’ve been blessed with a first hand insight…
Study Abroad: one of the best decisions of my life!
My time in Brazil came to an end in the blink of an eye. Once again I understood the importance of living every single moment to the fullest because it all goes by before you know it. After about two years talking about study abroad and over a year trying to pick a country, I…
My last weeks in Brazil
Unfortunately, my time in Brazil is coming to an end, but luckily, the last couple of weeks were probably the best so far. For the past three weeks, I was able to conduct research on the education of children who have sickle-cell disease in Salvador, Brazil, and it was such an amazing experience! It was…