It was another beautiful day today in Ho Chi Minh city as we woke up and got our usual breakfast at the hotel. On our agenda today we had our last two company site visits featuring a stop and lunch at a local mall. We drove about an hour to the first site, VSIP, which…
Tag: Summer 2019
Operation: Gyeongju World (May 11)
Yet another early morning here in Seoul, but our long bus ride to Gyeongju made up for it. It was a five-hour bus ride through the mountainous regions of South Korea. We essential drove from the north if the country to the southeastern territory. The drive itself was very uneventful. I slept for the first…
Cu Chi Everything
This morning we left the hotel at 8 AM and took off on a long bus ride to the Cu Chi Tunnels. Similar to yesterday, we drove past a lot of small houses and restaurants with tin roofs on tight and bumpy roads. Eventually, we made it to the tunnels and had the chance…
Crawling through the Jungle
Today we had the opportunity to visit a historical site of the Vietnam War, the Cu Chi tunnels. Upon arrival, we are greeted with a presentation of old war machines left behind by the Americans or taken by the Vietnamese soldiers. Seeing these machines sparked the conversation of how amazing it is that even with the…
The Beauty Within the Clouds
The Cloud Forest in Monteverde completely exceeded my expectations of its magic and beauty. Being in deep in the forest, surrounded by some of the greatest biodiversity on the planet is pure bliss. My favorite part was definitely the bird watching, especially the beautiful quetzal, as well as the hanging bridge; despite my extreme fear…
Andrómaco
Today we visited a pharmaceutical company in the city of Buenos Aires that produces various cosmetic products such as lotions and creams and other medical products. The majority of their lotions and other cosmetic products can be found in almost any pharmacy throughout Argentina and can be bought over the counter, whereas all their pills…
Outsourcing an Egg?
Our third day in Saigon came with a surprise. After our daily morning classes at the university, the planned lunch for the day was actually McDonald’s. At first, I was hesitant to the idea given that I had not eaten McDonald’s in as long as I can remember but it was an interesting experience to…
May 4th & 5th – Welcome to Augsburg
Travel Day & Day 1: Even though our flight wasn’t until Saturday morning, I would say the trip really started with dinner Friday night at the Union Grill with everyone, which was really nice. Then the next morning a group of us woke up early to make a Pamela’s run to start the day off…
Observations of Heredia
Pre-departure I had been told certain things about Costa Rica and Ticos (Costa Ricans). Notably, that everyone in Costa Rica runs on Tico time, following the mañana approach to life. With this laid back outlook, I had expected some delays in meal times and departure times. However, when breakfast was served nearly two hours before…
Heredia: My Beautiful Home for the Next Two Weeks!
I can’t believe I am finally in Costa Rica! I did not seem real until I was walking down the beautiful streets of Heredia filled with flowers. vibrant colors, local people, and LOTS of Spanish. My first impression of Costa Rica is on the food- muy bien! It has exceeded my expectations completely, even with…
Day 1: Made it to Milan
We made it to Milan! After a full day and night of flying and exploring the Pittsburgh and Newark airports all with very little sleep, we finally touched down in Italy. I couldn’t wait to let this Plus3 experience really sink in! We went through customs and baggage claim before hopping on a bus to…
Sustainability YAY
Hola! Costa Rica’s outdoorsy-ness is what originally drew me to choosing this program. This can largely be traced back to their multiple different climates, and geographic settings. These beautiful scenes are still thriving due to Costa Rica’s many efforts to be a sustainable country. The focus they put on sustainability makes me view Costa Rica…
Giving Costa Rican Sustainability a Call
A mystical vibe has always accompanied Costa Rica in my mind. This is due to the country’s environmental sustainability initiatives being years ahead of most other countries. I envision lush, thick greenery kept beautiful, looking practically untouched, because of the country’s forward-thinking environmental practices. I am excited to be immersed in the country of Costa…