Almost all of my American friends I made while studying abroad were majoring in international relations. At Syracuse University, like most others, it is a broad field, incorporating law, organizations, security, diplomacy, political economy, and international communication in each geographic region of the world.
As a a magazine journalism and modern foreign language major, I was [...]

It turns out that Monte Carlo is a ghost town at night and everything was closed at 8 pm.

The best thing about hanging out in the Saint-Germain area is having a picnic on the Pont des Arts.

Before embarking on my 340-day traveling adventure, I was beyond nervous. Not only do most students not study abroad for a complete year, but they definitely don’t do so alone. Most programs are large, it is nearly expected that you will know at least one or two people… the Chile program, on the other hand [...]

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Any time I want to relive my first backpacking trip to Europe (1998), I sit down and watch Eurotrip. It’s a silly, stereotype-driven take on what it’s like to ride the rails and get into trouble in such popular destinations as London, Amsterdam, and Rome.
If you’ve ever had your fill of street [...]

Thoughts on money for the budget-minded
When it comes to travel, there are two things you can count on: (1) you’ll always find a cheaper exchange rate after you’ve traded your money, and (2) you’ll always go over budget. I don’t mean to be negative, but these are the Murphy’s Laws of travel. Yes, there are more, but [...]

I purposely bought a small backpack to help limit me in what I brought on the trip.

 
On this day, Magali working a long shift at the bakery, Sebastien took me around the Bay of Arcachon. Biganos, the town where Magali’s mom lived, was at the southeast edge of the bay. First, we drove southwest to the Dune of Pilat, Europe’s biggest sand dune. Formed during [...]