A Sweetheart Backpacking Through Asia

Greetings from Cambodia! As I go on my sixth week backpacking through South East Asia I can look back and admire all the amazing things and places I have seen. Leaving Texas for three months to go to places that are so culturally different from my own has been the best experience of my life and I would not change it for the world. I have been able to do amazing things such as stay with a local family in a remote village in the northern mountains of Vietnam where I learned all about rice planting and their daily lives, admire the beautiful beaches of Thailand, ride elephants and explore the jungles of Laos, and view the amazing temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia just to name a few. While there have been some bumps in the road during my travels its nothing I cant laugh about because they have made for good stories. For example my friend and I were left on a random street corner after upsetting a tuk tuk driver in Bangkok by insisting on going to our agreed location, Another time we asked for train tickets to Hoi An in Vietnam but instead received tickets to another city entirely and in Laos we had a bus trip take twenty hours instead of eight due to consecutive landslides and lack of paved roads.

This opportunity has allowed me to meet and form friendships with people from all over the world. Texas Sweethearts has been a great influence on the person I am today. Coming to UT as a transfer student I already had a close group of friends but I wanted to branch out of my comfort zone so I looked into various organizations. Sweethearts allowed me to meet people from all over as well as spark up conversation with anyone, a skill that helped tremendously while traveling. I became a more confident person and bloomed into the person I am today. Texas Sweethearts has made my college years the best years of my life with the greatest friends I could ask for. I would urge everyone who has the opportunity to travel to take it because while I have learned a lot about myself and the world through college it is nothing compared to the real and unique experiences of life abroad. I miss all my sweetheart ladies and I am excited to meet our Fall 2011 sweetie class once I return from my next six weeks of travels! Off to India and China! Hope everyone had a great fourth of July!

Hallah Saleh
President
Texas Sweethearts