About

About this Blog

I started this blog as a way to keep my family and friends informed and worry-free during my six week trip to Egypt in the summer of 2009.  Since then, I have kept it up as a place for my insights and explorations into the topics of travel (international and domestic), politics, human rights, gender dynamics and what it means to be me right now.  I try to offer equal parts travel diary, academic insight and personality, on all the aforementioned topics.  I do my best to keep things interesting when I’m back in the US by following up on the countries and topics I’ve already experienced, researching new opportunities and keeping an eye on relevant news.  I’m personally quite thankful that I have a place where people read what I write every day, and I know no other medium exists that could offer me that satisfaction.  If you have any suggestions or questions, please let me know.

About Me

I’m Delia, a recent graduate of Northeastern University’s International Affairs program in Boston, Mass.  I spent the first half of summer 2009 living and traveling in Egypt, speaking Arabic and getting to know the history and culture of the place.  I then worked at Amnesty International for six months as my first co-op.  I learned a lot more about international human rights law, grassroots organizing and the practical reality of a non-profit.

I spent spring 2010 studying abroad (legally) in Havana, Cuba.  I lived with seven other Americans from NU, and 9 from University of Michigan.  We spoke Spanish, studied the culture, attended underground hip-hop battles one day and Santería ceremonies the next, drank rum and swam at some of the best beaches in the world.

The summer of 2010 I did a program in France and Benin (francophone West Africa) studying local NGOs and micro-enterprise.  I currently work part-time at OISP, or Northeastern’s study abroad office, where I spent my second co-op. I loved getting to know the administrative side of international education, and I’m excited to explore that industry more.  It was also my first professional experience with managing other employees, which helped me grow a lot as a worker.

In the spring of 2011 I got very involved with the Social Enterprise Institute on campus, which led me to take two of Professor Shaugnessy’s classes.  They both brought me to the Dominican Republic, once for 8 or 9 days over spring break and again for a month for summer 1 classes.  I was lucky enough to spend that time on field research with Esperanza International, a Grameen replicant that works with the poorest of the poor, including Haitian immigrants.

I spent the fall semester of 2011in Thessaloniki, Greece.  I brought 139 college freshmen abroad for their first semester of college, and the learning curve was incredible.  I was able to return to Egypt for a break and went to Istanbul and Berlin for the first time.  I also learned some Greek, and for the first time I went abroad not as a student, but as an employee.

In the summer of 2012, right after graduating from Northeastern I was lucky enough to return to Cuba as a teaching assistant on Northeastern’s photography program.  I learned a lot about my camera and documentary style, and spent my time taking students to the clinic, translating ad hoc, spreading my love and knowledge of Cuba to the group, and shooting a couple thousand photographs a week.  It was an amazing end to my college career and I’m so grateful to have met everyone connected to that program.

At this point I have worked in international ed on the administrative/student services side, running multiple short-term faculty-led programs in-country, and as an in-country jack of all trades with Northeastern’s first semester abroad program.  However, all of those were through a university.  In June of 2012 I started work at Lexia International, a study abroad provider that focuses on cultural immersion.  As a Student Services Coordinator it’s my job to help applicants figure out the right program for them and find out everything they need to know about applying.

My interests include politics, social justice, writing and photography.  I love books, movies, music, politics, languages, grammar and the sound of my own voice.

If you have any questions about travel, the places I’ve been, Northeastern or the co-op system, feel free to drop me a line.

Contact

The quickest way to get ahold of me is to leave a comment on the blog, whether it be on a specific post or one of these pages.  I do my best to answer everything, and I tend to check the blog obsessively, so I’ll definitely see it.

If you add me on facebook, twitter or LinkedIn, do me a favor and shoot me a message explaining who you are, and feel free to include a link to your blog or website.

You can reach me by email at harrington[dot]delia[at]gmail[dot]com. If you have some other address for me already, go with that.  No worries, all roads lead to gmail.

Here I am on Glimpse, a user-based travel website with connections to National Geographic.

I also caved and got a tumblr.  It’s a bit different from this, much shorter and easier to digest.

Here I am, all webified and such.

I’m blogging for Northeastern’s Coop Connections about my time in Greece here, so feel free to have a look!

This is the blog I kept at my last coop job, Northeastern’s Study Abroad department.  Check out my professional social networking abilities :).

Waiver

This blog reflects solely the opinions of its author, and when noted, those of guest authors.  It does not reflect the opinion of any past or current employers or affiliations or their subsidiaries, including Accion International, Wanderful, the Women in Travel Summit, Harvard University, Harvard Law School, Hollaback! Stop Street Harassment, Safe Hub Collective, Lexia International, Northeastern University, the Office of International Study Programs, the N.U.in program, the College of Professional Studies, Northeastern University Admissions, Amnesty International, the United Nations Association/International Relations Council, the United Nations Association of Greater Boston or the National Council on US-Arab Relations.

The writing and photos here are solely the property of the blog author, unless noted otherwise.  If you wish to use some of it, please let me know and include full name credit and a link back to the source.  If you wish to use something from a guest post, please contact them directly or ask me if you need their contact.