World Traveler in Training

Asha Ress is a 20-year-old student of criminology at University of Minnesota Twin-Cities, and a current member of the study abroad program Junior Year in Munich. Already in her short life, she has visited over a dozen countries and plans to visit many more during her year abroad. Asha says that one of her lifelong passions is travel, and I know many of our exchange students at LMU feel the same. I sat down with Asha and talked about her travel experience as an American, her favorite places, and how she decides where she wants to go.

You have traveled a great deal for an American student of your age. What do you look for when deciding where to visit?

The first thing I do is make sure it is within my budget, obviously. Then I make sure that the place I am going is safe- safe enough for me to be in. Then I consider whether the city has options of things to do and see. If I am planning a weekend trip, I look for places that don’t have too much to do so I can try to see everything. I wouldn’t try to do London or Paris in just a weekend because there is far too much to see.

Where does your love for travel stem from?

I live in a really boring town where there’s not much to do, even if you drive a couple hours out. I really like to see other places and cultures. My family doesn’t really love travel, so I would say my inspiration to travel and even do study abroad was an experience I had watching a panel with the Rotary International where they answered questions and talked about their cultural differences. That was really interesting to me.

Where is the most interesting place you have been to and what made it interesting to you?

Probably Beijing. It is not like any other place I have been. It’s a completely different continent and culture. For example, most of Europe, culturally, is relatively similar. However, China is unlike any culture I had ever experienced. Beijing was really cool because I had my best friend, a native to China, to act as a tour guide. He knew a great deal about the history of China, and there really is nothing comparable to the scale of the ancient Chinese dynasties and how they shaped China today, even in Europe, but especially not in North America.

Because China was a very new culture to you, did you experience any culture shock issues while you were there? If so, how did you resolve them?

Culture shock? No. But there were definitely things that I found very different from the US. For example, I tried new foods and animals that I had never tried in America. The population is also much older in China than it tends to be in America, which was very interesting to me. Another major shock to me was the propaganda that the Communist Party displayed across Beijing, which my friend explained was completely normal in China. Like traveling to any new place, the political differences are just inevitable.

What do you believe is the best way to get to know a place and the culture surrounding it?

My own personal belief is that you won’t get to know the city or culture unless you’re there for, let’s say about four months. You also need to be surrounded by locals during your time there, even if that just means talking to them at coffee shops. That, to me, is the best way to truly learn a culture.

Do you believe our experiences with the Junior Year in Munich (JYM) program allow for those conditions? In other words, do you feel that you will have good understanding of the culture in Munich come July?

I think the JYM is a better study abroad program than most other American programs in Germany, because you do have the opportunity to study with LMU. However, I believe most American study abroad programs do not really allow for this environment because they tend to not be as entwined in the culture. They tend to be a little closed off and within a bubble. I think most Americans use European study abroad programs as a way to travel, which is great, but not a way to fully experience the culture. So, I would say this program is better than some, but still not the best way to get to know the culture. We will see come July.

Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your experiences with me.

You’re very welcome. It has been an honor.