...It has been two weeks since I first walked in the gates of Center for Champions…and I wish time would pass much more slowly. I am not only having the time of my life doing exactly what I love, I am also learning so much valuable information. I feel like I have lost my heart to this place—and I don’t care if that sounds super cheeseball! Just getting to know the students here, knowing some of their stories, seeing the joys and the trials of their lives…it is heart-wrenching and heart-warming at the same time. I see some of the ways God has worked here, changing the street kid mentality that many of them have. They amaze me with their resilience and their strength. I don’t think they realize how much I admire them.
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GoEd website

...On Sunday mornings my friend Miguel and a few others from his church have a really cool routine: they climb the nearby mountain to spend some quiet time and pray. I decided to tag along and it turned out to be a really neat experience. We left the house at four in the morning and hiked for over an hour until we reached the top. From where I sat I was able to watch the sunrise next to Cayambe, Ecuador’s third-highest peak.
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NILI website

...I’m a hugger, and I think people hug a lot here. It’s actually quite beautiful. Africans have a word they use called “ubuntu” and it is considered a way of living. It means community. It doesn’t matter whether we met 5 seconds ago, or 5 years ago, they don’t shake hands…they hug.
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Cornerstone Institute website

...Literally, we live in a video game here. The other morning, we were rushing to school, racing against our clock to leave our house to get to the next level, if you will.  As we progressed to level two, our mission was to find the school transport before he got on the freeway.  We had to run and dodge a few cars to get there, but we did!  This moved us to level 3: Traffic jam. We took a long detour to avoid the jam, but ended up stuck in it anyway, observing a large population of rats by the side of the road.  We narrowly escaped their attack by zooming across the freeway, we made it the final level; the sojourn to school.  We literally had to drive around a man in the middle of the street swinging probably a 15 foot ladder around, dodge some other students, and finally made it to school on time.  
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Universidad Veritas website

...On Friday our group left for Otavalo, the largest indigenous market in South America. On the way we stopped and got delicious biscochos—biscotti’s—with mani—dipping carmel—we also stopped at San Antonio de Ibarra, also know as Wood town, where the majority of the people have worked with wood and carving their whole lives. There were several beautiful pieces of art, as well as opportunities to see art being made. We also stopped at town—Cotacachi—which also houses an “active” volcano with a lake at it’s center. We were taken out into the part of the lake where the bubbles from the volcano arise.
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NILI website

...We went on a group trip with the school to Córdoba, home of La Mezquita de Córdoba. It was beautiful on its own, but it was even more interesting because we had been studying it in art and our art professor (Carmen) was our tour guide while we were there. Since we’re so used to her lectures, I forgot that she was speaking in Spanish – I just understood her without translating every word in my head. Pretty exciting.
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Semester in Spain website

...On Saturday My friend David and I went surfing. It was my first time surfing ever, and I was really excited to try it. We rented the board and got lessons for only $20 total. The instructor was very helpful (and the lessons were in Spanish, I was proud that I understood them). After about 10 minutes on the beach practicing laying on the board and standing up, we hit the water.
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Universidad Veritas website

...I can't believe I've already been in Costa Rica for 3 weeks! Each day is a new adventure and I think I am improving with my Spanish, but it is an elevator of success and frustration. Some days I feel like I'm spitting out Spanish like a pro, other days, I'll hit that black wall where I can't remember a certain word or phrase and I can't make myself understood worth beans--or should I say worth frijoles. 
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Universidad Veritas website

...During our worship time the other night we sang “Let It Rain.” The lyrics go like this, “Open the floodgates of heaven, let it rain, let it rain.” Apparently, God was listening because yesterday, it rained. No, it didn’t rain, it poured...Becca and I were walking back from the market and right as we reached our road, it began to rain cats and dogs. Literally, dog-sized raindrops were hitting me in the face. Naturally, every person ran for cover. Have I mentioned how the world stops here when it rains? Well, it does. Everyone just runs under the awnings of the shops and stands there until the rain stops. We considered it, but decided it was such a short walk home. And, I’m from the Northwest, this kind of stuff is like child’s play. I forgot that I am usually equipped with my waterproof rain jacket and my longest walk is usually from my house to the cafeteria. We were soaked by the time we reached our gate, but we had arrived home.
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GoEd Africa website

...I have become surprisingly comfortable in this country. I feel like I sometimes have to remind myself how far I am from home because it just feels normal to be here now. There are definitely still the “only in Africa” moments but I have fallen into the routine of life here. It is a beautiful place and full of beautiful people as well. It is still a very broken society from the system that apartheid put in place but I have enjoyed learning and being with these people.
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Cornerstone Institute website

...I have witnessed enormous amounts of brokenness and suffering while I have been here in Rwanda, but it is through these situations that I have also been able to experience the power of love and forgiveness. Though it's difficult to understand how there can be such great suffering in this world, I know that God is faithful. I have seen it in the lives and stories of so many here in Rwanda.
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GoEd Africa website

...In the land of ancient ruins, crystal blue waters, delectable cuisine and vivacious people--Athens possesses enough charm to pave the city streets. Upon arrival to Athens on a sunny, Saturday afternoon, my first impression could not be anything but described as both completely surreal..and terrifying! I quickly discovered that crosswalks are far from a safe zone, but rather an elusive interchange of running for your life and following the native Greek's example of survival.
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AMBEX website  AMBEX blog

...The first case study was somewhat overwhelming, since I don't think I've ever written an 8 page research paper on a very complex subject I knew nothing about before hand. The first was on the philosophy and theology of John Duns Scotus and William Ockham. I was researching how Ockham challenged Scotus's work.
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Scholars' Semester in Oxford website

...Yesterday was exactly what the doctor had ordered. A little taste of home through skype & a visit from a friend followed by an outrageous night with some of the funnest, most genuine, caring people I’ve met. It has been so beautiful to watch how this community looks after each other & how they have invited me right in. Up until yesterday, I was doubting how this semester was going to go, but now I know that I am going to have a hard time leaving & I’ve only been here for 3 weeks.
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Australia Studies Centre website

...When I was new to the city, I had a mental list of things I thought might happen to me sooner or later.  For example, falling down when the subway starts– done. Seeing a B-list actor walking on the street– done (thank you Lee Pace). This list has also included things that, against the odds, have not yet come to pass. I still haven’t been hit by a cab or a bicyclist even though I take the “frogger” approach to crossing streets in Manhattan. BUT just minutes ago, IT happened. This IT is highest on the echelon of ITs, as in, I said it would happen, but I never really thought it would...A bird flew into my face.
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NYCAMS website