travel – Voices

My Experience Backpacking in Southeast Asia

Posted on June 18, 2020September 21, 2022 by Toran Langford

By Toran Langford '21 This past summer, I participated in Operation Groundswell. I was a “backpacktivist” in Thailand. Then, I explored Cambodia on my own. This coined term “backpacktivist” means to act as a guest in a place others call home. We were supposed to adhere to local traditions and customs, which allows us to understand the value of cultures different from our own...

10 Moments that Highlighted My First Year at Pomona

Posted on April 2, 2020September 21, 2022 by Selena Lopez

By Selena Lopez ‘22 I don’t know about you, but, to me, there has always been something about lists that draws me in. “Top ten places to visit,” “best books to read this break,” “47 things to do while at Pomona”— the list goes on. Do I complete these lists? No … not necessarily. I’m also not good at keeping up with the lists that I make. Daily to-do lists? Can’t follow them....

Being in Bishtek

Posted on January 15, 2020September 21, 2022 by Dakota Crookston

By Dakota Crookston, ‘21 Moving beyond mosaic tabletops and colorful couches, the lot of us had taken our seats at a table in the back. The booth was grand, tucked behind thick drapes and lavishly upholstered. Our rowdy bunch eyed each other apprehensively. I knew that this moment would come eventually, but I thought it would happen after my own decision. I had not expect...

Looking for Paradise and Finding Peanuts

Posted on May 31, 2019September 21, 2022 by Paul Kiefer

By Paul Kiefer ’20 In a few important ways, Morocco did not feel especially foreign to me. It is a Muslim country, and I am a Muslim. It is largely an Arabic-speaking country, and I speak enough Arabic to navigate comfortably. Moroccan cities are dense, but I have spent enough time living in college dorms to feel comfortable in close quarters. I went to Morocco expecting to ...

Building Friendships with Sweet Treats

Posted on May 29, 2019September 21, 2022 by David Song

By David Song ’20 In the fall semester of 2018, I studied abroad in Hong Kong through Syracuse University and their partnership with the City University of Hong Kong’s SCOPE (School of Continuing and Professional Education) program. Through this program, I spent much of my time with the fellow participants of the Syracuse & SCOPE joint-program: I lived with them in the s...

Metrolink to Amtrak: Time on the Train

Posted on May 2, 2019September 21, 2022 by Becky Zhang

By Becky Zhang ‘22 My first semester at Pomona was unforgettably fun and eye-opening. While my friends and I made ample use of the seven dining halls, five campuses, sunshine, cafés, and thrift stores in Claremont, we occasionally took the Metrolink train into L.A. in search of places and activities to explore outside the 5C bubble. We really made use of the city, a short an...

Shattering My Routine Through a Gap Year

Posted on February 28, 2019September 21, 2022 by Danny DeBare

By Danny DeBare ‘22 It feels weird and, to be perfectly honest, sort of pretentious. When introducing myself on campus, I constantly find myself adding “But I took a gap year!” to almost every conversation. I am a first year. But, at the same time, I’m not; I lived in Ecuador for seven months before landing at Pomona, stretching my comfort zone in a year outside the traditio...

A Summer in the Land of the Midnight Sun

Posted on December 6, 2018September 21, 2022 by Sarah Binau

By Sarah Binau ‘19 It’s July 1st, and I’m on an Alaska Airlines jet headed to Bethel, Alaska, to work for the town’s Cultural Center and live with a Pomona friend. I land on Bethel’s only runway in a 50-degree drizzling rain. “Remote” and “rural” begin to take on new meanings. The town of 6,000 has one main road (warped by the melting permafrost below), a gallon of orange ju...

The “Abroad” in Study Abroad

Posted on November 26, 2018September 21, 2022 by Libby Rose

By Libby Rose ‘19 (second of two posts by Libby Rose about studying abroad) During my study abroad program at University College London (UCL), I had four weeks off after classes ended to travel, and I learned so much about myself through that experience. I went on a European tour with two of my friends who were studying abroad at Cambridge. In just two weeks, we went to B...