by Perla Flores
Hello everyone! My name is Perla Flores. I will be a sophomore this upcoming fall at the University of Washington where I plan on majoring in either Law, Society and Justice or Business. I am from a small town up north called Marysville. I come from a family of seven, my oldest sibling is 22 and the youngest one is six. Growing up in a large Mexican family always made it hard and expensive to travel, so the only other country I have ever visited is Mexico. This year being a freshman brought many changes in my life and along with the changes came the desire to do different things. I have always loved traveling and meeting new people, as well as trying new things. I knew that I wanted to travel somewhere this year but I wasn’t sure where. It wasn’t until I talked to some friends that I realized studying abroad was something I definitely wanted to do this year. So I became more and more interested in studying abroad and decided to apply to the Tahiti OMA&D study abroad program. So this July 21, 2012, I will be visiting Tahiti where I hope to have an awesome experience, and learn about the culture and its people. I must say that I am very excited and consider myself very lucky for being chosen to study abroad in Tahiti. I have only heard wonderful things about this place and I also have a couple friends who have visited in the previous years and describe this place with one word: “Paradise”. As the time for departure gets closer my anxiety and excitement continues to grow. I have been preparing by learning some French and just preparing to be open-minded about the difference in culture I will experience. In this trip I hope to learn as much as possible, and gain life-changing experiences in order to make me a better person and student.