6 Misconceptions Americans Have About Cuba

As many of you know, I spent a month living and studying Havana, Cuba this summer. Of course, this doesn’t make me an expert on Cuba or Cubans, but I have noticed several misconceptions that many Americans seem to have about Cuba (some of which I had before I went there as well) which I’d like to clear up! If you’re planning a trip to … Continue reading 6 Misconceptions Americans Have About Cuba

7 Ways to Travel While in College

College is an interesting stage of life–you have much more time than money, and more freedom to make your own choices than ever before. With that freedom, many students want to travel. After all, college is when you start to find out who you are as an Adult Person and discover what you really want to do in life. Travel can help! However, with having … Continue reading 7 Ways to Travel While in College

9 Days in Bolivia with Engineers Without Borders

Bolivia with Engineers without Borders

In August of this year I traveled to Bolivia with my university’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders. We have a clean water project there, and our mission was to go down and install a chlorinator. The project is at the University Academica Campesina (UAC) in Carmen Pampa, which is near Coroico, Bolivia. The UAC educates the local people in subjects like agronomy, nursing, tourism, and … Continue reading Bolivia with Engineers without Borders

London: Harrods, Abbey Road & British Museum

Today, our last day in London, was definitely a fun day! Sarah, Tawny, Emily, the other Laura, and Chase joined us for the first part of the day (we split up at lunch time). We started out by visiting one of the oldest and largest department stores in the world, Harrods. It’s known as a very fancy department store, but many of the items there … Continue reading London: Harrods, Abbey Road & British Museum

London: Westminster Abbey & Piccadilly Circus

​Today we got up early to finish packing and catch our train to London. As we were walking to our subway station and saying goodbye and good riddance to Paris, we were greeted by a scene of two men fighting fairly violently right in front of our subway station. It was pretty scary. One of them was whacking the other one with who knows what … Continue reading London: Westminster Abbey & Piccadilly Circus

The Louvre

Paris: The Louvre & Montmartre

​I dislike Paris again. I think I must have a sort of love-hate, off-again on-again relationship with this city. Or maybe it gives a bad first impression, then you warm up to it, but then when you delve deeper you realize it really is a dirty, unfriendly city. ​But let’s start with something more pleasant. On our way to The Louvre this morning there were … Continue reading Paris: The Louvre & Montmartre

Notre Dame gargoyles

Paris: Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe & Notre Dame

Well I have to say, after today my opinion of Paris has improved quite a bit, though I still think people tend to overrate it and overlook other fascinating destinations. Breakfast this morning was orange juice and two croissants. It was pretty good, though it turns out it cost about $10 from the hotel, so for tomorrow’s breakfast we just bought something from the grocery … Continue reading Paris: Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe & Notre Dame

Paris

Paris: Chunnel & Eiffel Tower at Night

​Today we said goodbye to Edinburgh, and it was quite sad–I’d enjoyed Scotland even more than I’d expected to. We took a train back to what feels like our “home” base here in Europe, London. The countryside was just as beautiful as it was on the way there, and I’ve included a few pictures. We stayed in London for a few hours, waiting to get … Continue reading Paris: Chunnel & Eiffel Tower at Night

Edinburgh

Edinburgh: Calton Hill, Firth of Forth & Greyfriars Bobby

Today was our free day in Edinburgh, and we packed in a lot! We started out with a quest to find a tin whistle, something Mickey wanted to buy while she was here. We hadn’t found any in the last two days, but she’d found a place online last night which opened at 10am, so at 9:00 we set off and got off the bus … Continue reading Edinburgh: Calton Hill, Firth of Forth & Greyfriars Bobby

Edinburgh: Edinburgh Castle & the Royal Mile

​We ate breakfast at our hotel today (it was just yogurt, toast, and jam, and we missed our English breakfasts from London a little) and then set off for Edinburgh Castle. We took a bus ride up most of the hill to it, and then walked up part of the Royal Mile before arriving at the castle. Mickey and I started our Edinburgh Castle experience … Continue reading Edinburgh: Edinburgh Castle & the Royal Mile