geography

When applying for study abroad programs, many applicants cite their fascination with different cultures or their desire to step outside of their comfort zone as their reason for applying. But let's be honest, everyone just wants to travel.

The main reason students go abroad in the first place is to visit all of those places they see on Pinterest and then boast to all of their friends about it on Facebook. No one actually goes for the academics. The real secret, however, is how much you actually learn when you're not even trying to learn it.

Take geography for example.

By the end of your study abroad experience, you will be a master at both the ancient and modern wonders of the world. When you get home, all of your friends and teachers will be amazed at the extent of your new knowledge, but they do not have to know, however, exactly how you acquired such expertise.

You don't have to tell them that you can name all the regions of Italy because of your wine tasting class or that you know the current state of the Moroccan government because the guide of your camel ride tour carried an excessive number of guns.

You don't have to tell them that the reason you can cite the finest details about Leonardo da Vinci's painting "The Virgin with the Child with St. Anne" is only because you got lost in the Lourve and somehow kept ending up in front of it.

Here is a list of some of the top places to visit throughout the world:

• London
• Rome
• Barcelona
• The French Riviera
• Istanbul
• Beijing
• Berlin
• Buenos Aires
• Sydney
• Paris

However, I can assure you, wherever you go, it will surely be the experience of a lifetime. That is the beauty about studying abroad. Whether you are following a crowd of Asians in one of the most tourist populated cities in the world like Florence or dancing with a band of Greeks on the small island of Corfu, every destination is a new opportunity for adventure.

As proof, I have added a new page of pictures from my study abroad experience. If that does not inspire you to see the world, then I do not know what will. Check it out here.

My best advice? Live a little, learn a little and get out of town.

Class dismissed.