An Unknown Experience

By: Heather Ricchi

My freshman year I went to a presentation about studying abroad in college. After sitting through the presentation I decided that I wanted to study abroad at some point in my college career, but I wasn't exactly sure when I was going to be able to fit that into my busy and rigorous schedule. I was told about an opportunity to study abroad over Christmas break and as soon as the last sentence left Professor Pederson’s lips I was hooked. I had never been to Puerto Rico before so I was very intrigued to visit and study the culture of this island. I have traveled my whole life but this trip was the first time that I would be traveling for the purpose of learning and studying a different culture.

A couple weeks before we left for Puerto Rico I got to meet the group of students that I would be taking on this cultural inversion experience with. We all met up in Fort Worth and on a extremely smaller scale got dip our feet into studying tourism like we would be doing in Puerto Rico. In Fort Worth my classmates and I clicked automatically as if we had all been friends our entire lives. Together we got to visit the Fort Worth Stockyards, study the transportation, accommodations, attractions and the food that travelers from all over the world visit Fort Worth for. This experience allowed me to no longer hesitate or be nervous about the study abroad trip that I was about to embark on. I was now excited to be able to study and learn about tourism and travel writing in Puerto Rico with these intelligent and kind individuals.

   I got to spend quality time with my new classmates while enjoying Tex-Mex cuisine in Fort Worth.

                                               The cattle run at the Fort Worth Stockyards.

              Saying Boomer Sooner all the way from Texas while studying tourism in Fort Worth. 

Links: 

http://www.fortworthstockyards.org/

http://www.ou.edu/cis/education_abroad.html

https://www.fortworth.com/the-herd/

Contact Information: 

Email: Heather.a.ricchi10@ou.edu

Phone: 214-551-2715

Twitter: @heatherricchi4
Facebook: @heatherricchi
Instagram: @heatherricchi

Travel the world in my home

By Maddy Payne

  

            My childhood was not the typical childhood. I grew up all over the world, and so far I have spent just over ten years of my life overseas. Growing up, I experienced many different cultures, and my house has come to reflect every single one of them in some way, shape or form. From Beijing, China my house holds old, tiny slippers that were fashioned for the women with bound feet. From Italy, my house holds beautiful stained glass pieces including crosses and sculptures which were bought at the one of the numerous stores found by the gondolas floating in nearby canals. From Egypt, my house holds miniature statues with ancient hieroglyphics. London, Jakarta, Paris, Africa, Finland and New Zealand are a few other paces that have made a mark in my life and in my home, but the list goes on.

            My home is unique because it truly reflects all I have been exposed to and everywhere I have been. Traveling is a huge part of my life – it’s how I grew up – and my family and I make an effort to collet something unique from every new place we explore. Moreover, since we have traveled so many places, we have tried many different types of foods. My family loves to cook and our travels and past are reflected in the food we make. Some nights it is broiled, buttered Chilean sea bass that melts in your mouth with a side of grilled bell peppers and onions. And other nights consist of steamed white rice, sautéed chicken marinated in soy sauce and honey with a side of garlic steamed asparagus heads. From many of the places we have lived or visited, we will recreate meals we had when we were there. When you spend time with my family and in my home you can see, taste, smell, touch and experience all the different cultures, and hear all the unique stories we have to tell you. 

Glass art from Venice, Italy. 

Tiny shoes from Beijing, China. 

An obelisk and a small pharaoh statue from Giza, Egypt. 

Check out:

http://www.zestrip.net/blog/en/blog/2016/05/20/the-top-10-art-galleries-in-venice/

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/living/living_abroad/living_abroad_by_country.shtml

http://www.china-tour.cn/People-And-Customs/Chinese-Feet-binding.htm

Tags: Home, travel, explore, diversity, food

Email: maddy.payne@ou.edu

Website: maddy.payne.weebly.com

Twitter: @maddypayne397