At a young age, I was never interested in geography. I remember playing with the world globe and never bothering to learn the names of the countries, as I told myself, "You're never going to leave the USA." Now I'm in Singapore, exploring areas where my physical appearance is unique. Hi, my name is Jesus, and this is my story about being LGBT and Hispanic within Singapore, which has been proven to be the melting pot of Asia. As someone who is always pushing for growth educationally and interpersonally, this opportunity was exciting to me.

Hello, my name is Emma. I transferred to the University of Oregon at the beginning of the 2024-2025 academic year from a small college in Kansas. The opportunities for my major and to connect with people who shared similar experiences to I was limited – coming to UO opened a gateway of new opportunities. One of them being GEO’s programs. Last summer, I traveled to Taiwan and Japan for the first time through a GEO month long study abroad. I loved the experience of being abroad and wanted to challenge myself further.

Hello! My name is Adri Jolie, and I’m a junior studying General Social Sciences and 3 PM, with a minor in Spanish. I chose this program to understand the Spanish language and Mexican culture better, as my goal is to one day work with Latina women in providing necessary reproductive care. More personally, I want to become fluent in Spanish to communicate with my family, and to better understand my own roots. 

Hello! My name is Ruby, and I use the pronouns they/them in English and elle in Spanish. I wanted to document my experience as an out and proud trans person living abroad and also someone who uses the emerging pronoun: “elle.” Many Spanish speakers similarly use the pronoun in the same way many English speakers use “they,” to signify that one’s gender identity is non-conforming or outside of the binary.
 

Now that my time in London has officially ended, I’ve been reflecting on how much happened in what felt like such a short amount of time. Before leaving, I thought this experience would mainly be about gaining professional experience through my internship—but it became so much more than that.

Wow, what a journey! 

One of my dreams has always been to travel and see the world. In fact, my top three countries to visit were the UK, Italy, and France. So, this study abroad program meant a lot to me and was an amazing experience I’ll always remember. With that said, I would encourage other students to study abroad because they will get to experience a whole new world and culture that most people can’t experience. Also, studying abroad can motivate students to pursue their dreams, as they build connections and see new things that inspire them.

Most of these pictures and videos are from the last couple of days of our 30-day trek. It was an incredible experience that I got much more out of than I expected. Being surrounded by such amazing people, both staff and students, allowed me to fully be present while I was in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Jack Livingston, Wildlands Studies

Hello, Giana here. I have officially been home from Europe for a week! If I am being completely honest, the return was a bit rocky; my checked luggage was overweight from all the trinkets I was planning to bring home. Other than that, the journey home was as smooth as possible. First, I had a two-hour flight to Germany, then another from Germany to Oregon. My flight was 10 hours long. I was pretty exhausted, mainly because I'd pulled an all-nighter beforehand so I could sleep the whole flight.

On the last day of my internship, my parents arrived in Stockholm, and I spent the next three days showing them around the city. While I was making an itinerary of what I wanted to show them, I realized how much I had done during the program. This realization was comforting because in the final two weeks, I had begun to worry whether I had seen or done enough. I wanted to rest after the workday and get a head start on packing, but I kept worrying that there was something in Stockholm I was missing.