Beijing, China, Aug. 6 -- Since the last time I wrote, I've settled into my neighborhood and explored more of China. Last summer, I neglected to visit the Great Wall with UCSD’s Education Abroad Program. I have since been scolded for my neglectful traveling, which ran in complete opposition to this country's popular saying: "bu dao chang cheng, fei hao han:" “if one has not been to the Great Wall, one is not a true man.”

So, I took my first step into manhood just a few weeks ago – on a section of the Great Wall known as Shanhaiguan's First Pass Under Heaven.

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Osaka, Japan, Aug. 6 -- We went to two of Japan’s biggest summer festivals, called Gion Matsuri and Tenjin Matsuri. We spent a whole night having lots of fun, including singing karaoke and playing the latest Japanese arcade games. We even had the chance to create our own hand-made instant noodles at an instant ramen museum.

The past five weeks I spent here thanks to UCSD’s Pacific Rim Undergraduate Experiences (PRIME) research program have been an incredible time for learning, sharing and experiencing both Japanese culture and international collaborative research.

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Melbourne, Australia, Aug. 6 -- Cars racing on the left side of the road are no longer a shock but just the norm. I no longer think in Pacific Standard Time except when I make calls home, where everyone laughs when they think that my day is ending while theirs is about to begin. After a month of coping with 12-degree weather, riding around Melbourne in trains and eating meat pies for dinner, I can finally say that I am adjusted to life here in Australia.

I even finally had a close encounter with this country’s best-known native animal, the kangaroo.

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April Deibert
A Military Coup, a Cyclone,
Conservation Work and a Wonderful Job

Adelaide, Australia, July 16 -- "Why can't you?" A simple question from an Australian friend helped me decide that it was at last my turn to move overseas. I had made many close friends over the years while living in International House and working as an adventure counselor at a ranch in Northern California. Adelaide, in South Australia, seemed like the perfect place to land - not only did I have friends there but it was 180 degrees different from my hometown of San Diego. More