Now that I am back at home in North Carolina in self-isolation for 14 days, I have plenty of time to reflect on the fragment of my Spring semester I was able to have in the midst of the rise of the Covid-19 virus. Here is my coronavirus story that stretches from January to March, and takes place across Vietnam,
In the midst of all the uncertainty about the coronavirus and the future of our semester, we had the opportunity to celebrate the Lunar New Year with local Taiwanese families in Yilan County, Taiwan. We spent three days staying with our host families and participating in and learning about all of their traditions. It was truly a highlight of my
Hanoi was my last stop on my two week trip through Vietnam, and although I didn’t spend a lot of time there, I enjoyed exploring the busy and quirky capital city. Here’s the low-down on my two days in Hanoi. The Basics Getting There Hanoi can be reached by bus, plane, and train from all over Vietnam, but because my
Ninh Binh, an utter natural wonder, was without a doubt my favorite stop in Vietnam. I spent three glorious days in this area of the country relaxing in some of the most stunning surroundings I could ever dream up. Vietnam’s Halong Bay usually steals the show when it comes to a major nature-based tourist destination, but Ninh Binh was an
After spending five days in southern Vietnam, in Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta, I hopped a flight to central Vietnam in order to visit the popular city of Hoi An. Known for its old town splashed with bright yellows and lit up at night by lanterns, this town is a popular tourist spot. It came highly recommended
Before starting my second semester in Hangzhou, China, I started my travels for 2020 in Saigon, Vietnam. I am traveling through Vietnam solo for two weeks, and my journey began in the country’s biggest city, now known at Ho Chi Minh City. I used Ho Chi Minh as a base camp for five days for travels throughout the city and
Oh, Beijing. I visited the capital city of China back in 2012, and looked upon it with the eyes of a 13-year-old that had never traveled outside of the United States. Last week, I returned to Beijing with LIU Global for a week. There, we visited the typical tourist spots, visited international organizations, and listened to lectures from local professors.
This past Friday my classmates and I ventured to Wuzhen, a water town located between Shanghai and Hangzhou. When we arrived in Hangzhou in August, I began researching nearby places we could travel to in our free time, and I read a lot about the gorgeous water towns dotted throughout China. This blog post about nearby Wuzhen and all of
This past week took us one hour by bullet train from our “small” city of Hangzhou to the sprawling metropolis of 24.4 million people that is Shanghai, China. I visited Shanghai back in 2012 at the age of 13 as part of a school group – the trip to China was my very first time out of the country, and
Each year on the 15th day of the 8th lunar calendar, people in China and several other people celebrate what is known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Origins are believed to date back to China’s Shang dynasty (1600-1046 BCE), and involved giving thanks to the moon and celebrating the harvest. Today’s modern celebration also includes celebrating the moon as the holiday