The Girl Who Goes

independent, intentional travel

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Going Back “Home”: A Weekend in London

london eye

The London Eye and River Thames from Westminster Bridge

Five and a half years ago (!!!!), I spent a fall semester of college studying abroad in London. It was one of the most important experiences in a long chain of events that contributed to me eventually living in Spain. During that semester, I had more fun than I’d ever had in my life. I met some of my very best friends, I was able to jet off to different countries over the weekends, and I got to live a lifestyle unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. Most importantly, I learned that I could do it. I could adjust to life in a foreign country, away from everyone/everything I knew and was comfortable with, and thrive while doing it. [Read more…]

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Foreign Exchange Student Connection in Thailand

 

Dinner with Boong in Bangkok

As you may remember, this year my family is hosting a foreign exchange student from Italy. Gaia has joined our family through a program called the American Field Service (AFS for short). These students live with host families in the U.S. for 10 months, from August until the end of June.

When I was Thailand a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet up with a former exchange student from my high school days. Boong was an AFS’er from Thailand at my school during the 2008-2009 school year – almost 10 years ago! We follow each other on Instagram, so I told her when I’d be in Bangkok and we planned to meet for dinner. [Read more…]

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Bringing the World Closer: Hosting a Foreign Exchange Student

foreign exchange students - football game

High school friends at the football game (including foreign exchange students Saara, from Finland and Pietro, from Italy)

Ten years ago, I started high school. Along with the first homecoming dance and first AP class came my first experience with foreign exchange students. I had never met anyone from Japan, or Colombia, or Finland before — yet, here they were, playing alongside me on the school soccer team. [Read more…]