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On Nightlife, Drag, and Identity Expression in Buenos Aires
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On Nightlife It was around 3 AM on a Saturday morning in late March, and I was celebrating a friend’s birthday at Fiesta Whipin Almagro, Buenos Aires. I was dancing mindlessly on the club’s second floor when I noticed people stepping back to create a circle. In the center, a tall figure was swaying to the…
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Mad to Live: Engaging in Action Sports and Their Respective Communities
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I was extremely fortunate to spend much of my time in South America pursuing my passions and dreams of backpacking, skiing, surfing, and mountaineering. To supplement my memory of the experience I wrote journal entries, landscape descriptions, and poems. Here is a journal entry from 25thof July, 2017 Miercoles, Día 16 con los Avydonkeys, Day 8…
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How to Deal with Weight Changes While Studying Abroad
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You’re Not Alone. Issues surrounding body image, health, and beauty can be pretty difficult to grapple with in general. But what happens when you’re suddenly placed in a new cultural context? While studying abroad, you may realize that the new people around you hold different standards and values when it comes to these subjects, which…
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Never Alone
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If you had an opportunity for the experience of a lifetime, would you go alone? In my journey to go abroad, there were a few things I had to take into consideration: I had to find a great business school, I wanted to be able to compete a full swim season before I left, and…
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Building a Network Outside the Classroom: Interning Abroad
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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work abroad? Many students are interested in the concept of working in a foreign country, but might be uneasy about the idea, as they have never had exposure to a foreign office environment. Well, IFSA students studying in Shanghai have the best of both worlds- they are not…
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Music, Identity, and Belonging in Scotland
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Magic happens when a room of hundreds of people falls silent, in a collective motion of pulling the acoustic blanket around ourselves, tucking into a nighttime story together. Magic happens when you get goosebumps and an irresistible urge to move, to latch onto the music, from the first few notes of a fiddle, and you look…
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Where Are You From? Understanding Microaggressions Abroad
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“Oyaage rata mokakda?” (What is your country / where are you from?) “Aemerikaawa,” we respond. “Ah…” Several moments pass and the kind stranger smiles at me. “Oyaage rata mokakda?” “Aemerikaawa,” I reiterate, “Namut mage pawula Japanwala.” (But my family is from Japan.) A conversation here often starts in this manner and continues with, “Ah, what a beautiful country,”…
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The Quest for Tranqui
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It was the second week of orientation. My friend Allie and I were sitting in ParqueBarrancas de Belgrano, one of the many green spaces in Buenos Aires. Barrancas is a grassy hill peppered with trees, where locals sit around drinking mate, throw around a frisbee, or play with their dogs. Allie and I sat there…
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How IFSA Made My Abroad Experience Unforgettable
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Cultural immersion, beautiful natural sights, exotic animals (kangaroos!), and breathtaking live entertainment are just a few of the ways I can recap my experience abroad in Sydney, Australia. In addition to the amazing sights and adventures I took part in, I also made some of the closest bonds with people I will never forget. If…
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When Abroad, Phone Home!
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Reality Hits It’s that time of the semester when there is increasing popularity of memes speaking to many students abroad who are slowly realizing that they still have academic responsibilities and are bracing themselves for the impending doom of neglecting them. The academics may be different from back home, but assignments, essays and exams still do exist on…