Home Feature Archives - UCEAP News and Features

Grappling with Studying Abroad in Asia as a Chinese American

by Jennifer Monroe | Jun 1, 2026 | Asia, Home Feature, Personal Growth, UCLA

By Emily Hsi (UC Los Angeles), winner of The Californian Abroad blog contest, studied abroad at the National University of Singapore. When I first decided to study abroad, all I knew was that I wanted to be in Asia. As a Chinese American born and raised in California,...

How I Showed Up as a Black American Student in Japan

by Virginia O'Connor | Jun 1, 2026 | Asia, Home Feature, Personal Growth, UC Berkeley

By Denmark Harris (UC Berkeley), winner of The Californian Abroad blog contest, studied abroad in Kyoto, Japan I was excited to study abroad in Japan—but I was also afraid. As a person of color, I knew I was heading to a country where the vast majority of people...

My Moka and Me: How Italian Coffee Culture Transformed My Year Abroad

by Jennifer Monroe | Jun 1, 2026 | Europe, Home Feature, Local Living, UC Santa Barbara

By Casey Lopez (UC Santa Barbara), winner of The Californian Abroad blog contest, studied abroad in Padua, Italy The first time I used my 10 euro Moka pot, one of Italy’s simplest and most iconic coffee makers, I was sure it was broken. Impatient and jetlagged, I...

Study Abroad Program: Lund University, Sweden
Program Location: Lund, Sweden
Other Countries Visited: Denmark, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria,
Hungary, and Norway
Home University: UC Berkeley
Major: Bioengineering
Year: Junior (Graduating Spring 2017)

Alison Long is a rising senior studying tissue engineering and drug delivery at UC Berkeley. She loves spending time outdoors, hiking, biking and playing soccer. As a nature enthusiast, her travels involved exploring national parks and canvassing tulip festivals around Europe. In her free time, Alison enjoys painting and watching cooking competitions on the Food Network.

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