Ciao! Italy has been a beautiful culture shock so far. Walking the cobbled streets, the country still feels like an idyllic dream. The streets of Rome are bustling with fashionable people. Tourists and locals intermingle in street markets. A typical day in Rome for me starts with waking up at 7AM. After getting ready, I…
Hasta Luego Costa Rica
I loved my study abroad experience and I think I learned better because of it. When traveling, I approach things with a more opened mind, I want to experience everything. That same mindset translates to my learning. I also really valued the opportunity to stay with a host family. I feel as though I got…
Ciao Costa Rica
During my two weeks in Costa Rica, I went on site visits to plantations, hiked through the Cloud Forest, and explored the area. Staying with my host family gave me the opportunity to really see how a Costa Rican family lives each day. In my few days in Monteverde, I hiked the cloud forest and participated in…
Ciao, Florence!
Ciao! My name is Danielle Russell and I am a rising sophomore Chemical Engineering student here at the University of Pittsburgh. In addition to my chemical engineering degree, I am pursuing a sustainability certificate and an environmental engineering minor. As my studies suggest, I am interested in the growing and ever important field of sustainability…
Vietnam: Halfway through the Trip
Hi, everyone! I might be posting this a little more than halfway through the trip, but I can still explain how everything was when I was halfway through my stay in Vietnam. Vietnam is honestly not that different when comparing it to my community at the University of Pittsburgh, because they value the importance of…
Firenze Fun!
I can’t believe I’m already halfway through my program in Florence! There has never been a dull moment, but there are definitely differences between Florence and Pittsburgh. Everywhere I go, it does seem that it takes a little more effort to make someone smile. For example, when I try to speak Italian at a café,…
Feelin’ good in Florence
It’s been a little over two weeks, and I already decided I am never leaving. Just kidding, but seriously, everything about Florence, or just Italy in general, makes me happy. I already notice a bunch of different things here compared to Pitt. First off, Florence is a very walkable city. There are not many cars…
Eine Woche in München
If you’re keeping track of time, you may realize that I’ve spent somewhat more than a week in Munich. But there’s so much to do in Munich that a week will slip by before you know it. A typical day in Munich begins with commuting from our guesthouse in the southwest of the city to…
Sam Jaunts to Brussels!
My name is Sam Podnar, and I am an incoming junior studying Politics and Philosophy with a minor in Economics. I am heavily involved in local political organizing, which I engage in through the College Democrats at Pitt, and I am interested in working on public policy in the future. I write for the Policy…