I’m finally going to Peru. It been about 10 years in the making. I have wanted to do this trip for so long. I first saw the instagram for the travel group I am going with in 2016. Around that time was also when I decided I wanted to do all seven wonders of the world before 40.

Today I’m going to talk about some of the differences between China and the US. Some scholars categorize China as a developed country and some categorize it as a still developing country. China has developed a lot in the past 10 years. The skyline of Shanghai looks very similar to New York City. The improvements of China has brought this country into the modern age, but there are still a few things that are a little different. The most important thing to remember when going

One of the major parts of my study abroad where the organizations we visited. We visited two think tanks, Disney China’s marketing department, sixth tone (an online publication), the Communist Party’s headquarters, an international relations university, the US embassy in China, and Alibaba. Yes, I know what you are thinking we did a lot. We were very blessed to have been able to do so many things. We packed in about three organizations a day.

Like previously stated I have so much more I want to talk about from our trip. It was such a great experience don’t want to miss any exciting stories. On our last day in Beijing five of us hopped into a taxi and rode an uncomfortably 20 minutes to a hotpot restaurant.  It turned out to be the most fun night in Beijing. So what is hotpot, you say. Essentially, there is a pot in the middle of the table with boiling hot water (we split it into a spicy section and plain section

I can’t believe my trip is over. These past ten days in China have been some of the best days of my life. This trip has been so great. I have learned so much and have had so many great experiences. I feel so blessed to have been able to go on this trip. Next time I will definitely visit for much longer. China is so such a beautiful country and the people are outstanding. They are so loving and kind. I can’t wait to come back. We visited 10 different organizations from govern

I apologize its been so long since I have updated you. I’ve been so tired because we have really long days and pack so much into those days. It’s a good tired though. I don’t want to miss out on anything. Three days ago we walked the grounds of the Temple of Heaven and two days ago we visited the Forbidden City. The reason I have decided to post about them together is because they are very similar

It’s been quite an exciting 48 hours of living in Beijing. We have packed a lot in these two days. We’ve done two excursions plus visited three prominent organizations that deal with foreign relations. I mean we are just here for 10 days so to fully experience Beijing you have to pack a lot in one day. Which means longs days and short nights, but hey it’s worth it. I’ll sleep when I am dead.* For those that don’t know my entire major is called Diplomacy and International Rel

I’m finally here! I’m in Beijing. It’s 5 am in the morning here and I’ve been up since like 3 am. #jetlag. Since I’m up I decided to write a quick recap of plane ride and hotel stay. The plane ride was a little less 14 hours long. It was completely smooth sailing…flying? Strangely enough I did not sleep. I tried for like two hours, but that’s about it. I watched a lot of movies. Shoutout to Will Ferrel he’s probably my favorite comedian. I also caught up on some reading I ha

It’s two days before my trip and I am so ready. I’m almost done packing (I’m a late packer most of the time I pack the night or morning before), I’ve planned out my outfits. I’ve notified my bank and T-mobile that I’m going to China. I’m set. Let’s do this. I’m excited. There’s always a little extra excitement before you leave for trip whether it’s a vacation or study abroad experience. A lot of people keep asking me why I’m going to China. I mean yes, I am an International

Today starts my explaining my spring break China process. I will be documenting the process. My goal is for those who are considering studying abroad for spring break or even a semester to refer back to this blog for tips and to know what to do. Here we go: Application: The first step to studying abroad is applying for it. The application can be online or printed out. The application is usually very simple. The basics like your name, major, recommendations, and why you wan

Today is my last day here in the beautiful country of Oman. It’s bitter sweet. I have really loved my time here. This has been one of the best months of my life. I have had such an amazing time and met so many new people that I don’t want to leave, but I want see my family and friends. Being a 14 hour plane ride is much different than being a 12 hour drive away.

Hey everyone! As my time here comes to a close unfortunately, I have decided to share a few tips about studying abroad from what I have learned. I hope everyone has been having a fantastic time reading about all my adventures. I hope everyone gets the opportunity to go on a study abroad experience. These weeks have by far been the best weeks of my life. I have had an amazing time meeting new people and learning new things about different people and cultures. Somethings you wo

Classes were cancelled for Thursday our last day of the week. I’m sure you’re wondering why. Well the tropical storm Ashobaa will be hitting Muscat (the city where I will be living). The city will be in a state of emergency as a precaution. The last time a storm hit Muscat it DEVASTATED the city. The Dean of our college explained it could even be as bad as a Katrina situation or it could just be a little drizzle. The officials are not sure exactly how devastating the storm wi

Yesterday I had my first test. It was difficult. I believe I did well, but I would never say that it was easy. The Arabic language itself is very different from English. Personally to study I break it down into three categories. I learn how to pronounce it using phonics by writing the pronunciation in English, I learn how to write it Arabic, then learning what I means in English. Unlike languages such as Spanish and French you have to learn an entirely new alphabet! Also ther

Yesterday we went on another adventure. We went to the ancient cities of Nizwa and the ancient village of Misfat Al Abreyyin. The village has been inhabited for over 4,000 years! Not much has changed in these as you will see in the pictures, but that’s what makes these so unique. Nizwa was our first stop. It was once the capital of Oman.

So yesterday I did something completely outside of my comfort zone and not a typical Mallory thing. I climbed these huge rocks that hurt when you fall (trust me I know) to get this beautiful pool of water in the mouth of a cave. From the moment I got here everyone talked about wadi shab. These magical water caves where you can go spelunking (something I wanted to do as a child because the word sounded cool). When I heard water and spelunking I wanted to be signed up immediat

So Sunday I went to the Royal Opera House to see musical about Ibn Buttuta. He was an explorer from Morocco where he traveled to China, North and West Africa, South Central, and Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe. I suggest reading a little bit about him. He was an interesting man.

Like promised this post is about the Q and A from our tour of the mosque. Our guide was more than happy to answer any questions we had about Islam, Oman, or anything else we wanted to know. At the very beginning she introduced us to her friend who she very proud explained was a female engineer. She attended University and received her bachelor degree then masters in the UK. She then came back home to Oman and now works as an engineer with men. She gets paid just as much as t

Today was another wonderful day. Today we visited the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. Using the word grand doesn’t give this beautiful place justice. Besides being so large it was also extremely beautiful. The grand mosque had beautiful architecture, stained glass windows, and carpets. Parts of the building came from all over world. Places like Iran and India. Our tour guide joked that even the tvs aren’t Omani and were made in the China. The only Omani product were the stain gla

Today was by far the best day I have had since visiting Oman. My group, also known as Squad, went dolphin watching and snorkeling in the Arabian Sea which feeds into the Indian Ocean so basically the Indian Ocean. And it was magical. We shared the boat with two other families, but they didn’t seem to mind the loud American young adults.