We’re back with another themed week on the site: Travel Week. This semester, Her Campus FSU has created themed weeks dedicated to exclusive content we believe all of our readers should have access to. Keep up on the site for the next few days as we cover everything from the best places you need to roadtrip to before you graduate to the top eats across the pond (that’s London town, for those of you who haven’t brushed up on your British). We promise we’ll leave you wanderlusting for more. After all, summer vacation is just a few weeks away!
Name: Dylan Hengy
Age: 19
Year: Sophomore
Major: Political Science and Economics
Hometown: Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Photo By: Annie Grafe
Dylan Hengy was a First Year Abroad (FYA) student last year, taking his fall and spring classes in Florence, Italy and his summer classes in London, United Kingdom. We met my first day in London while I was completing my program there, and he was the first one to take my friends and I to our first pub in the city and explore the famous Oxford Street. While living in Italy, he traveled to many countries in Europe, Africa and Asia. I got the chance to sit down with him and talk about his travel experiences and reminiscence about the good times we had while abroad.
Her Campus (HC): You began your journey at FSU as a FYA student, so this would be your first year here in Tallahassee. How are you liking it so far?
Dylan Hengy (DH): Well, the weather is nice! It’s no London. I get nostalgia all the time but I’ve gotten used to it. It’s nice to see my American friends again.
HC: The weather here is beautiful! I miss London as well. I’m dying to travel back to Europe whenever I get the chance.
DH: I’m trying to go back for Fall 2017!
HC: You’re going to study there again?
DH: Yes! I actually want to do an internship back in London for my last semester. Maybe move there for real.
HC: That would be such a great experience to have! You should definitely do it. I’m thinking about applying to be a PA (Program Assistant) when I graduate in London. To get paid to experience the program again is the dream.
DH: I’ve thought about applying to be a PA back in Florence after I graduate. Florence will always be my first adult home. It really has a special place in my heart. But to intern in London for Economics or Political Science seems unreal.
HC: You would be a great PA in Florence since you do know a good amount of Italian.
DH: And I knew zero Italian when I first landed in Italy! I wasn’t even 100% sure on what “ciao” meant!
HC: It’s amazing how much you’ve learned! Did you visit any other countries while studying in Florence?
DH: Yes! I actually created a note on my iPad with all the different countries I visited and different stats from all my travels. I also made a map of all the different flights I took. I visited 13 countries in Europe and two in Africa and one in Asia.
Courtesy: Dylan Hengy
Dylan’s Travel Stats:
Countries visited: 16
Countries visited per continent:
Europe: 13
Africa: 2
Asia: 1
Passport stamps: 32
Visas issued: 3
Planes Boarded: 48
Time spent in air: Approximately 102 hours (4 days, 6 hours)
Distance flown: 40,390 miles
Times flown around the world: 1.62
Times flown around the moon: 5.95
Flights by airline:
Alitalia: 20
KLM: 6
Air France: 5
British Airways: 5
Delta Air Lines: 4
Aegean Airlines: 2
Vueling: 2
WOWair: 2
CityJet: 1
HOP!: 1
Nights spent travelling: 58
Nights by accommodation:
Hotel/Resort: 50
Airbnb: 5
Airplane: 2
Hostel: 1
Santorini, Greece.
Courtesy: Dylan Hengy
Photo taken during Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany.
Courtesy: Dylan Hengy
HC: That’s amazing! What countries did you visit in Africa?
DH: I went to Morocco and Tunisia. Tunisia is the country directly south of Italy – it’s the country that looks like Italy is about to kick when looking at a map.
HC: Where would you say was your favorite city that you visited in Europe?
DH: Well my favorite place that I went was London.
HC: You went to London before studying there in the summer?
DH: Yeah I had to check it out! Plus, I really love it there. I love the big city, love the accents, I know how to order things (laughs). I love the big cities the most because there’s so much to do like Berlin, Moscow and Barcelona. I actually wish I had more time there in Barcelona and wish I went when it was warm instead of in February.
Russian propaganda t-shirts found in the underground in Moscow, Russia.
Courtesy: Dylan Hengy
HC: So I’m guessing you liked Barcelona and London the most?
DH: I ranked all the cities that I visited. I was really bored one day trying to procrastinate and I did it on my iPad. I included all the cities I went to in that list.
HC: That is amazing! How would you describe your time living in Florence?
DH: It was great! I’m glad I started there and one of the main reasons is because I didn’t have to buy food. They gave us meal tickets so my meal plan for my freshman year was real Italian food.
HC: The best kind of food! And did you guys do any day trips in the program?
DH: We did two weekend trips each semester – Rome and Venice. And the first day trip we did was Ravenna, which is on the East coast of Italy. All the others were small towns that I can’t remember. I missed the Tower of Pisa trip – that one I did on my own.
HC: Do you have any crazy stories from your time abroad?
DH: There were a lot of crazy days. Especially in Africa where first I went to Tunisia and I didn’t know French, I didn’t know Arabic, I did not know how to communicate with anyone. Barely anyone spoke English and I remember I was so hungry after my flight when I got there so I ordered room service and I tried to get a chicken sandwich and they brought me a bottle of water. Same thing would happen in Morocco. There would be a little bit more English speakers but still not a lot. I met a girl in Morocco and she was actually Moroccan and she translated for me for the rest of the week, it was great. Plus when I met her they stopped overcharging me for cabs.
Photo taken in Morocco.
Courtesy: Dylan Hengy
HC: It’s a good thing you found her! Did you go to most places by yourself?
DH: No, I only did one trip by myself each semester. The fall semester I went to London by myself and in the spring I went to Berlin, but only because my travel buddy got sick for that one.
HC: What are your plans to travel abroad in the future, if any?
DH: I want to go to Dubai as soon as I can. I also need to go more to Eastern Europe. I feel like Russia was a good starting point because Russia pretty much made Eastern Europe.
HC: Do you have any advice for anyone out there that wants to study or travel abroad?
DH: Especially now, just don’t be afraid going anywhere and go in with no expectations because when you do that you’ll get the greatest stories and experiences!