The start of an 11 month journey

Josh Pasternak
1 day ago
2 min read

Where should I even start? Through the International Business Middle East and North Africa (IBMENA) cohort in the Darla Moore School of Business, I have been abroad for nine of the past 10 months. Pretty crazy.

My name is Josh Pasternak, a current junior studying International Business and Finance with a minor in Arabic, hailing from “the ville” Rockville, Maryland.

If we rewind the clock a little bit to May of 2025, I was getting ready for my first of three stints abroad, this first one being in Cairo, Egypt for June and July, followed by a fall semester back in Cairo, and then a spring semester in Ajman, UAE.

I knew coming into college that I wanted to study abroad. My older sister, who studied at the University of Maryland, despite never studying abroad, took many international trips during her four years and infected me with the contagious bug to see more of the world. If you are reading this, I assume you have a similar itch and passion for learning about new cultures, tasting amazingly flavorful food, and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. Or maybe, in some cases, leaving the uncomfortable zone of being in the US and finally being able to experience more of the world.

Through my cohort program, I was originally supposed to study abroad my sophomore year, but due in part to the Israel-Gaza war and a restructuring of my program, I had the option to push my time abroad to junior year, which I happily accepted. So to say I was nervous I don’t think would be accurate. Being in the cohort program, I knew I was going to be studying abroad for a year before I even stepped foot on campus in Cola. So if anything, my time abroad was long overdue, and I was excited to finally start my adventures, albeit a bit anxious as well.

As I was packing my bags, blasting Drake, and giving some cuddles to my demon of a dog, I was excited to finally use the Arabic I had been learning in a real-life setting and see what the Middle East had in store, because I knew for sure it would be nothing compared to what I had seen in my 20 years of existence.

And I was definitely right about that.