by Virginia O'Connor | Nov 1, 2024 | Asia, Europe, Personal Growth, UC Berkeley
By Francesca Ezra Casimiro (UC Berkeley) On embracing shyness and finding your courage I was always the type of person who was reserved and quiet. I waited for people to approach me first and desperately searched for the one person I knew in every room I walked into....
by Virginia O'Connor | Aug 26, 2024 | Personal Growth, UC Berkeley
Written by Angelina Engalla (UC Berkeley), winner of The Californian Abroad Blog Contest (2024) In transit to Paris, while waiting at the check-in counter at Hong Kong International Airport, I chatted with another traveler on my flight. We covered the typical airport...
by Virginia O'Connor | Aug 26, 2024 | Personal Growth, UC San Diego
Written by Ekaterina Griffin (UC San Diego), winner of The Californian Abroad Blog Contest (2024) My parents named me Katia after the little children they taught in Russia while in the Peace Corps. Their tales of the bitter Russian winters, rowdy schoolchildren, and...
by Karis Kotschnig | Aug 12, 2024 | Asia, Choosing a Program, Personal Growth, UC Santa Barbara
By Nico Shin (UC Santa Barbara) Life abroad has a way of teaching you things you never knew you needed to know Nobody has the same experience studying abroad—that’s part of its beauty. And no matter where your journey leads you, there are always profound lessons...
by Virginia O'Connor | Feb 13, 2024 | Africa and the Middle East, Career Prep, Personal Growth, Returning to California
No doubt, study abroad is a grand adventure, and there’s more to the experience than you might think. Students often say study abroad was not just a life-changing event in their lives—it was challenging and different, confusing and exciting, scary and wonderful. When...
by Virginia O'Connor | Nov 15, 2023 | Personal Growth, Returning to California, UCLA
by Anna Nguyen from UC Los Angeles to Hong Kong and Vietnam My maternal Chinese grandparents lived in Vietnam until the Vietnam War. They then fled to Hong Kong, where they lived in a refugee camp for a year with all seven of their children, before being sponsored to...
