travel

Travel advice for the worldly scholar; discover the best places to study abroad, the best art and history museums, and beyond.

The Beauty in Questioning
For the past two weeks of my summer, I had the opportunity to fly to Laos, a country on the other side of the world in Southeast Asia. I was a volunteer in a village called Sop Chem, or better known as, a home away from home. I was able to wake up every morning to go teach English to advanced teen students. Those students didn't need me to teach them, I wasn't giving them my "help." I was there because those students' eyes lit up at the thought of gaining more knowledge. They wanted to learn. Those students were intelligent when I got there, and they were intelligent when I left. I was there because learning brought them excitement. Sop Chem has an extremely strong community that would be flourishing with or without us. But, when our volunteer organization sat down, and asked the village what we could do with them, rather than for them, it not only created a bond, but it also allowed us to take measures to introduce sustainability to this community.
By Amanda Smeltzer7 years ago in Education
Exchange Student's Life in Vancouver
After extensive research on what it is like to live as an exchange student in Vancouver, I came to the conclusion that surprisingly, given that we are in the social media era, not many secondary students talk about their exchange experiences here. So following what some suggested to me, I will tell the world what my past eight months in Vancouver have been like.
By maya hall7 years ago in Education
Why Learn a New Language
Around 983 Billion people on Earth speak English. More people speak English as their second language, than native speakers, so the number of English speakers account for around 20 percent of the population of the world, you may ask if it is so widely spoken, why would I have to learn a new language if 1 in 10 people speak English? That question can easily be answered. Here are a few reasons why you should learn a second, or a third, language now:
By MrPie7 years ago in Education
Opportunities to Study Abroad in Law School
There is much to consider if you are thinking of studying abroad in law school. All students need to do a realistic cost-benefit analysis before you study abroad at law school and pay special attention to how it helps or hurts your future career prospects.
By Mikkie Mills7 years ago in Education
ITC—International Travelers Club
ITC was started in 2014 with the intention of providing students in the Memphis community a chance to see what else the world has to offer. I started it after working in an inner city school that only made the news when negative things happened in the community.
By Alex Taillie7 years ago in Education
How Studying Abroad Can Benefit Your Career
Statistics show that American universities and colleges have a collective international students’ population of more than a million. On the flip side, thousands of American students are relocating abroad in pursuit of higher education. This phenomenon forms the base for the discussion: Is studying abroad is better than studying locally? If it is, which are its benefits particularly to one’s career?
By Flora Mayer7 years ago in Education
Introducing Multilingual and Philanthropic Inc.
Multilingual and Philanthropic Inc. is an organization striving to allow students across America to have access to a quality foreign language education. This effort is in hope these students will become more culturally accepting and open up numerous career opportunities on a global scale, but also be able to connect with others on a human level with those who may not speak English.
By Jazz Cole7 years ago in Education
Stuck in the Endless Cycle of Normality
From a young age, I had various pictures of what post-secondary life would look like for me, and it usually included the surreal expectations of not taking a gap year and only going to University. When I look back at the way my mind worked back then (we're thinking like 10-year-old Bekah), I was quite a princess. I turned my nose up at the thought of taking a year off because I saw it as being lazy, and I was convinced that I'd never want to go back to school if I postponed it. Also, I believed that if you went to college, you were less intelligent than people who went to university, and obviously I could never be viewed as less intelligent than anybody, so I just had to attend university. These perspectives were inspired by what my classmates and teachers said, and I felt pressured to conform to do what everyone else approved of. Clearly, my self-expectations shifted at some point during my adolescence and I decided that taking time off between high school and post-secondary was actually ideal for me, as I was still unsure of what I wanted to pursue. I also realized that although university could be attainable for me, I don't think that it would be ideal as I like more hands-on learning, and I know that my marks would be better in college. Why am I telling you this boring life story? Because since I was able to change this outlook on post-secondary and take the filter off of my eyes that classmates and teachers put on me, I am now currently doing something that I am extremely passionate about and loving every minute of it.
By Bekah Boudreau7 years ago in Education
Everything I Have and Everything I Am
So far, I have been in Japan and teaching English for about two months, and it has had its ups and downs. Usually, there are moderate downs and very high ups. However, there is one personal issue that I always seem to be coming back to every now and then, and this issue has to do with my feeling of failing my kids as a teacher. So far, I have one elementary school day a week, and the rest of the time, I am supposed to be working with my JTE (Japanese teacher of English) to teach English at my middle school. However, my primarily JTE does incorporate me at all into any lesson plans. She doesn’t ever have any work for me to do, and when she does give me a task to plan a few activities and lesson plans, she completely ignores my efforts and ultimately does the same activities and lesson plans that they have been using for years. I have taught more classes at one day of elementary school than I have my entire time at here at my middle school. Without going into a harangue of all the problems with the system and my JTE, I basically want to get the point across that I am literally get paid to sit at my desk all day, which I substitute the time with learning Japanese and interacting with the students in classes other than English.
By An Tran7 years ago in Education
Nqobile
On the day that Nqobile left for college, her mother hugged her. Nqobile’s mother—a petite woman with a stern face, aimed straight at her daughter’s petite body, with arms wide open. It was an awkward but special moment; awkward because her mother had never hugged her before, but special because Nqobile knew that such an affectionate gesture from her mother was preciously rare. Most Swazi adults in her family do not hug, they simply prefer to shake hands.
By Linda Mayaba7 years ago in Education
The University of Life
As a 21-year-old female living in rural England, growing up I had the same ideals drilled into me much like most other people my age: You go to school, get good grades, attend university, get a job and live happily ever after.
By Aimee Jones8 years ago in Education
My Second First Day of School
Currently, I primarily work at one middle school and am on a rotation of elementary schools every Thursday. This Thursday, I went to Ise Elementary School for the first time, and it was absolutely amazing. Just when I thought schools could not get any smaller than Hayashida Junior High School, Ise Elementary knocked it out of the park with a total of 54 students for grades one through six. Hayashida Junior High School has 89 students for grades seven through ninth, and it is the second smallest Junior High School in all of Himeji. The entire sixth grade of Ise was literally made up of eight students. The first and second grade classes were the largest with ten to twelve students in each.
By An Tran8 years ago in Education