Newly weds, Thomas Edmunds and Teresa Moore, set out to travel the world, designing their honeymoon around USD’s MSRE intersession program in Hong Kong. Please enjoy reading Thomas’ reflections about their wonderful trip abroad!
“In Jules Verne’s 1873 novel, Around the World in 80 Days, Phineas Fogg and his valet set out from London to circumnavigate the globe in an outlandish 79-day journey, stopping in Egypt, India, Hong Kong, Japan, and the United States. On December 27, 2015, my wife and I set out from San Diego to circumnavigate the globe in 29.5 days, in celebration of our recent wedding. We enjoyed a full lunar cycle of travel, more commonly known as a “honeymoon,” stopping in Rome, Italy, Doha, Qatar, Bali, Indonesia, Singapore, Shanghai, China, and following in Mr. Fogg’s footsteps, Hong Kong.
The honeymoon was designed around the University of San Diego’s Master of Science in Real Estate intersession program in Hong Kong. This program was a great opportunity to complete a three credit-hour Capital Markets course while exploring one of Asia’s financial capitals and shipping hubs, as well as the world’s most visited city. Having not studied abroad as an undergrad at the University of Virginia, I jumped at the chance of spending the intersession term abroad in Hong Kong. I’m glad I did because it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
The Capital Markets class was extremely practical and informative. In addition to visiting CBRE’s Hong Kong offices, we had the benefit of listening to lectures from two USD MSRE alumni that work for multinational real estate companies. It was very powerful to hear from two highly successful professionals that attribute much of their success to USD’s MSRE program. The classroom curriculum was enhanced by a city tour, which included a trip to Victoria Peak, a mountain with beautiful city vistas, and a visit to Macau, Asia’s version of Las Vegas.
In my opinion, the main purpose of a study abroad program is not academic in nature but rather designed to provide a platform for personal intellectual growth, immersing students in new cultures and allowing them to build unique perspectives that they can bring back to their classmates and careers in the U.S. This study abroad program provided the impetus for my around-the-world honeymoon, which was highlighted by cultural immersion across four continents. My wife and I toured Hindu temples in Bali, visited the Tian Tan (Big) Buddha in Hong Kong, walked the iconic Bund riverfront path in Shanghai, and met Pope Francis at the Vatican in Rome! I will be forever grateful to USD and the Ahlers Center for bringing about this outlandish plan to circumvent the globe and for all of the amazing memories that were made along the way.”
To read more student experiences, visit our Study Abroad blog page.
Information on international opportunities can also be found on our Ahlers Center website.