“When we first got to the college, the afternoon that we got there the sun was setting and our rooftop overlooks the entire city of Rome. I remember we got up there and I looked over at St. Peter’s Basilica, which is literally right next door. I was blown away: ‘This is going to be our home? We’re going to live here?’ And somebody said, ‘This is your backyard for four years.’”
Read MoreNot everyone is afforded the opportunity to become a foreign exchange student, and even when the option exists, studying abroad just does not appeal to some people. But if you're one of those individuals out there thinking about expanding your cranium overseas and you wonder, among other things, what living with a host family might be like, you've come to the right place.
Read MoreI have experienced a number of twists and turns during my 24 years on this earth so far, and many of those twists and turns have been pleasantly unanticipated. Many of them have also involved me traveling to destinations far and wide that I truly could not have imagined myself journeying to a decade ago — heck, even five years ago in some cases.
Read MoreOn my list of places to visit, Asia had never really presented a particular draw for me. So I surprised myself in May 2015 when the pieces fell into position and I spent most of the month on the other side of the world in China.
Read MoreI landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport on Wednesday, May 4, right around 3:40 PM local time (which is to say 8:40 AM in Michigan). As I glanced at signs and advertisements posted along the walls of the airport, it was quite clear that I wasn't in Kansas anymore.
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