Think of the desert. For me, I typically imagine dry, barren and dead masses of land with maybe a few camels roaming around. Essentially, I pictured a lifeless landscape – far from what I would consider a travel destination. Naturally, I assumed this is what I would experience while camping in the Namib Desert, but…
One of the most unique aspects of Semester at Sea is the fact that I eat lunch with, live down the hall from, and make small talk with the program’s faculty and staff. Coincidentally, I live two doors down from University of Miami professor of anthropology and recent Carnegie Fellow, Caleb Everett. As one of…
Toeing the edge of a bridge 216 meters (709 feet) tall, I barely had enough time to think to myself, “How did I end up here?” Suddenly my legs jumped me off the Bloukrans Bridge in South Africa, the highest commercial bridge bungee in the world. There was a split second after my feet had…
I went to India, but didn’t see the Taj Mahal. Should I be upset? At first, I was a little disappointed that I wouldn’t be traveling to see the Taj Mahal during my time in India. People travel from all over the world to stand in awe before this particular manmade structure. To go or…
Before my visit, I had only ever heard Vietnam surrounded by war jargon like the terms Agent Orange and the Viet Cong. An overall opposition to the events that occurred there clouded my perspective of the country. I have heard Vietnam War veterans speak with trembling courage about their experiences, I have watched documentaries, and…
Disclaimer: China is a vast country and my experience is unique to me. Within the first half-hour of being in Shanghai, I was nearly hit by a motorbike, yelled at, stared at and pushed past while trying to find my way on the streets. I was abruptly snapped out of my Japanese daydream and quite…
Japan has left me speechless, and I mean that quite literally. On the outside, Tokyo looks pretty similar to any major American city. There are tons of people, busy streets, skyscrapers, and the like. When I stepped off the train to this city that seemed so familiar, I was immersed into a city on mute….
Aloha, Miami! The first stop on my 112-day voyage was Hilo, Hawaii. For those of you unfamiliar with Hawaiian geography, Hilo is located on the big island of Hawaii and is home to some pretty cool natural attractions I had the chance to learn about first hand. Currently, I am enrolled in an introductory astronomy…
When I first came to Miami, I had honestly never heard of Ultra Music Festival (UMF) and I had no idea what it was about. I didn’t really listen to electronic dance music (EDM) before college, and when my friends started buying their tickets to the music festival, I held off. Did I really need…
Being the music-loving, concert junkie that I am, I always get overwhelmed as festival season approaches, because it means I have to consider cost, distance and of course, lineup. These days, there are new festivals popping up all over the country, but which ones are worth the cost? There are the notorious festivals like Ultra,…
Perusing the aisles in Whole Foods, I can’t help but feel blissful as I practically skip past the variety of healthy eating options on every shelf. For once, I don’t have to worry about whether a pack of fruit snacks will give me cancer or if the milk I pour into my cereal may give…
As I sat on the grassy lawn section of the Cruzan Amphitheater watching some of my favorite bands play at a recent music festival, I stared ahead at a sea of raised smartphones. While sitting through an anti-climatic yet spastic performance by Matt & Kim, I pondered the generational progression of the habits of festivalgoers….