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Category Stories: Wellness, Health, and Safety

  • The Benefits of Cultural Immersion

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    The Benefits of Cultural Immersion

    One day my roommate (and now lifelong friend) Joyce, went out to find a pastry shop to get a treat. We found two rivaling bakeries across the street from one another. One barely had anyone in it, the other was packed. The packed bakery was the one we were planning to go to, but the…

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  • Five Habits I Picked Up In Sydney

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    Five Habits I Picked Up In Sydney

    The past five months studying abroad in Sydney, Australia have been the time of my life. I am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to explore new places, immerse myself in a new country, experience life as a student at a very different university to the small liberal arts college I was used to,…

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  • What No One Tells You About Study Abroad

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    What No One Tells You About Study Abroad

    You will want to go home. And that’s okay. In my experience, before studying abroad everyone I talked to only referred to it in positive terms, raving about how it was the best time of their life. Now that I’m at the end of my study abroad term, I understand why. There are so many…

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  • Adjusting to Cultural Norms in Argentina

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    Adjusting to Cultural Norms in Argentina

    We may not realize it, but staring is taboo in the United States. Here, personal space dictates a standard halo of two feet, with arms, legs, and eyes inside that bubble. One of my U.S. professors told me Americans can’t make eye contact for five consecutive seconds without getting into a fight or having sex.…

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  • “Abroad Changed Me”-Mental Illness and Embodying a Cliche

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    “Abroad Changed Me”-Mental Illness and Embodying a Cliche

    I left the United States for the first time in the summer of 2019 right before my freshman year of college. I had very little travel experience. I could count the number of flights I had taken on one hand. Entering college, I did not think that I would study abroad. As someone who has…

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  • Rediscovering Myself Through Studying Abroad

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    Rediscovering Myself Through Studying Abroad

    Studying abroad in London made me reflect on who I was, who I am, and who I want to be. The sound of “studying abroad” connotes a lot of “news” – at least for me. Exploring new cities and cultures, meeting new people, and discovering new passions. All of them were true, but in retrospect,…

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  • 7 Ways to Stay Mentally Healthy During Study Abroad

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    7 Ways to Stay Mentally Healthy During Study Abroad

    7 Ways to Stay Mentally Healthy During Study Abroad Study abroad can be very daunting, especially when you have to simultaneously juggle so many things: staying on top of your academics, making time to explore the country, trying to cope with the cultural differences, making new friends, etc. I find that being a first generation…

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  • How Cheez Whiz in Mexico Helped Me Find My Path to Medical School

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    How Cheez Whiz in Mexico Helped Me Find My Path to Medical School

    “Cheez Whiz.” “Qué?” “Cheez Whiz!” I flush from the combined efforts of interpreting the command, understanding what Cheez Whiz could possibly mean in this context, and the lack of air conditioning in the hospital. Soon I will start sweating, which will only cause the latex gloves to stick to my skin and fluster me more.…

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  • Learning to Appreciate Nature in Chile as a City Girl

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    Learning to Appreciate Nature in Chile as a City Girl

    Chile’s Beauty Right outside my apartment window sits Cerro Santa Lucía, a beautiful European-style urban park in the heart of Santiago. If I walk anywhere in the city, I am bound to pass a park, whether it be Chile’s largest urban park (and the third-largest in the world) – Parque Metropolitano – or the picturesque picnic…

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  • Tips for Student Athletes Studying Abroad

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    Tips for Student Athletes Studying Abroad

    One of my worries about going abroad was how I was going to continue athletics in another country. I play on the women’s lacrosse team at my home university. Because lacrosse is a spring sport, we have a set plan of workouts to complete throughout the fall semester. The workouts consist of lifts in the…

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