Got the travel bug? Always planning your next big trek? I have had it bad, but as a teacher, funds were limited. Sigh...

I decided to feed my travel bug by sponsoring overseas student tours, which gave me an opportunity to see the world (for free) as I exposed my students to life beyond our northwoods community. Traveling with teens was a joy (well, mostly)—their enthusiasm great fun. 

Some books come into your life and stay with you. For whatever reason, they strike a chord and fit right in. And while this is rare, it does happen. One book that is forever lodged in my heart is Lassoing the Sun: A Year in America's National Parks, by Mark Woods. It's a personal look at natural spaces, at family and friends, at moving and doing, at being in nature. It's a thoughtful record of exploration and listening and thinking, of love, of essence of place.

It was a gorgeous August day - the kind you hope for when planning a trip, smile at your good luck with the weather during, and remember fondly for years afterward.

Florida Culture for the Week of June 12, 2016 by Josh Garrick

Cleo Reiss is a 22-year-old University of Delaware graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing. She has spent her first year out of college teaching English as a language assistant at a bilingual high school in Madrid. In her spare time, she is learning Spanish, blogging, volunteering, and traveling around Europe. She will continue teaching next year in Madrid and is looking forward to another fantastic year filled with challenges and adventures.

Often-used phrases listed in travel books—most of them concerning directions to the nearest train station or restroom—are surely helpful tips to keep on hand when traveling, but having thank you in the local language as a knee-jerk response, without needing to look it up in a book or on our smartphone, will take us further with locals than we might realize. Even one word of thanks can create a lovely and memorable moment.

You’re investing a great deal of time, energy, and money preparing for your study abroad journey – and it seems that the list of things to do and buy still is endless. But it doesn’t have to be that way – and it doesn’t have to cost that much.

Adam Lough is a senior Supply Chain Management major at the University of Pittsburgh. Aside from majoring in supply chain, Adam has also received a Certificate in West European Studies and concentrations in Spanish and German language. He has had several internships and jobs, including an internship at DHR International, working on a consulting project for the Sarah Heinz House, an internship with Bosch Automotive Steering, and has been working at the International Business Center since August 2013.

Florida Culture for the Week of June 6, 2016 by Josh Garrick