Allison in Paris, France with the Eiffel Tower.

"If I could, I would just travel for the rest of my life." This quote comes from my good friend, Allison Wolf. Allison is one of the most traveled college students that I know. From Beijing to the Cayman Islands to Italy to Canada, she has had her fair share of traveling the world. Most of her travel has been with her family, however she also studied abroad in Rome during spring 2013. Allison is a spontaneous, curious and optimistic young adult that is willing to always try something new and expand her world knowledge. Allison and I recently sat down and talked about her travel experiences and memories.

What was your favorite trip?

Costa Rica was amazing and one of my favorite trips I have ever been on. The wildlife and plant life was overwhelming and so much fun. We did many fun activities, but one of my most vivid memories is meeting one of the locals. While there, we did an ATV tour. When we were about half way through we stopped to get a snack. We stopped in a local house where the family ran a small store. Looking at what I am used to, I had trouble imagining spending one night there, much less living there. It had dirt for the floor, walls were just from things being piled up. There were wires exposed and going all over the house. They had many animals and young kids. I saw a girl no more than five using a machete to just simply cut a piece of fruit. What struck me the most though is that they were so happy and friendly. They wanted to offer us the items they sold at the store and welcomed us into their home. I found that to be so endearing and really speak about the people in that region.

What was your study abroad experience like?

I studied abroad in Rome Spring of 2013. I lived in an apartment with 5 other girls in my program that I have never met before. We were in Monteverde which is a little outside the city center. It was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences.

Things I liked:

The scenery! There is so much history and beauty within Rome. My favorite monument is still the coliseum! I went back multiple times and it is so incredible. I feel like when you stand in it you can just see the history and everything that happened there. Another favorite place was Villa Borghese, which is a huge park. It has a beautiful pond, and you can rent bikes and ride around. When the weather got warm, that was a wonderful adventure.
The Food/Wine! One of the coolest things I still tell people about is the pizza places. When you go into a “bar” (not what Americans are thinking) they always had a huge array of pizza. There is potato pizza, shrimp pizza, plain bread pizza, and pretty much anything else you can imagine. Another great thing about Rome was that the restaurants were all amazing. You definitely cannot judge a book by it’s cover because the most hole in the wall place would have the most amazing food. It was always fun to go off the beaten path and just find a new little spot.

Things I didn’t like:

The transportation: Rome’s public transportation is absolutely horrible. The trains/trams/subway work well, but the problem is there are only two subway lines and they only stay within the very center of Rome. They only go on certain paths and are not always available. The primary form of public transportation is the bus system. The buses did not have a schedule and it would not be uncommon to wait 40 minutes for a bus with no idea when or if it would come. Overall, the transportation is impossible to manage and not easy to use or plan around.

You traveled around Asia last year, tell me about some countries you visited.

Tokyo: This was my first stop in the Asian tour I took last summer. It was shocking how truly respective the culture was. People never crossed the street until the light turned even if it was completely clear. While I was there, we went to have an authentic meditation and tea ceremony with a monk, and had lessons in a classic drum that they use. It was really incredible to learn and get lessons in the Japanese culture. I was really surprised how many similarities I found with the US.

Hong Kong: While I am still not sure whether I should consider this it’s own country or part of China, Hong Kong was definitely one of the coolest cities I have ever been to. It is so technologically advanced and has incredibly unique architecture. The people are so proud to be from Hong Kong. What I remember the most is just all the technology and capitalism. In Hong Kong they have cards similar to that of a credit card that holds all their medical information. They can just carry these around with them in case of an accident or medical emergency. Another thing that was pointed out to me was that there were three major bridges connecting two parts of the country. They were all owned privately. This means that the tolls were not monitored by the government, but based on supply and demand. If one bridge raises the toll, everyone can just go to one of the other ones. Hong Kong was like no place I have ever been, and I enjoyed seeing such a well functioning society with great use of technology.

Vietnam/Thailand: I wanted to put in that the most genuinely nice people I have ever met were in Vietnam and Thailand. In Japan they were polite, but the people here were so incredible genuine and wonderful. In Chang Mai, Thailand we worked with elephant trainers and got to ride, bath, train, and even paint with elephants. They are so incredibly talented, and the trainers were so nice and helpful. We also got to pet/cuddle with tigers. That was crazy. In De Nang, Vietnam, we went to wonderful beaches. It was such a beautiful country. We did traditional fishing by throwing nets off of a small boat and saw how a traditional farm was run. It was cool to get to see how locals make their livings. Both of these countries were amazing to visit, and two of my favorite places I have ever been!

If you could travel anywhere else in the world, where would you go?

Everywhere! No, really, if I could I would just travel for the rest of my life, but since that is unrealistic, my next adventure is to South Africa, Zambia, and Botswana. I am pretty much willing to go anywhere, so as opportunities come along, I am going to take as many as I can!