Plane tickets

As the price of fuel escalates, so will the price of plane tickets. Traveling isn't cheap but I have found some ways to cut back on travel expenses as a student traveling abroad in Southeast Asia. As a student I understand how tight money can be, so I have decided to list some tips and some sites that have been helpful for me.

1. StudentUniverse.com
In my search for tickets I have found StudentUniverse.com to be of exceptional quality for cheap tickets to get from America to international countries. The prices for their flights are as low as they come and they have destinations to locations all over the world. You will need your university e-mail address or some type of documentation to prove that you are a student or faculty member of an accredited university to get these discounted prices.

The only problem is that you usually have to book your flights from big airports. They will not have flight tickets to small airports around the world, so when doing a search try searching for a flight from a nearby big airport. This website is very good for domestic flights and for flight to other countries. However, as of this writing, StudentUniverse.com does not provide flights originating from international countries to other international countries.

2. www.no1-travel.com
This website is in multiple languages and their customer support staff have English speakers. The price of these tickets are lower for traveling between Asian countries. As a general rule of thumb I would recommend never to use American based websites to make inquiries traveling from one Asian country to another.

They usually have special ticket discounts for different seasons. If you are lucky you can get some cheap tickets during their specials. Also, check the departures leaving from different regions such as Osaka vs Tokyo. The fare differences are significant depending on when and where you fly from.

3. www.statravel.com
This website caters to students and provides reasonably cheap flights; domestic or international. The only problem is that it does not accept flights that originate from foreign countries. So if you are planning to do a year round study abroad you'll have to book your return flight somewhere else.

Student flights are often heavily discounted and should always be the first resource for anyone associated with an educational institution.

**Just a general note, flights on Wednesday and Thursdays are usually cheaper on any airline because those are the days people usually don't fly. In order to find the cheapest tickets try to search on on various days and from various airports. The price differences can be surprising.

Full Circle of Asia

Korea and Japan share many cultural origins because they are so close to each other, but the character of each country is different. Comparing the atmospheres of the two countries I find many similarities, but more unique differences. Korea has its own beauty and culture, distinct from the rest of the world. Korea is located in between China and Japan, two economic super powers of the this century. Originally China was the center of culture and technology. Korea being close so close to China, absorbed the culture, teachings, and technology of China. Afterwards, it spread to Japan so similarities can be seen clearly between these three countries.

Japan was the first of these three countries to enter the industrial revolution. From Japan, the spread of technology entered Korea. From Korea the influence spread to China. Just as China originally was a source of influence to other Asian countries, today Japan is the source of influence and technology to the rest of Asia. This path of influence that flows from east to west and back again makes a full circle with the countries China, Korea, and Japan.

Soil of Japan

Reflection

As the years roll on, each passing birthday is a milestone to step back and reflect. As I accumulate years of wisdom to my life, I thought the answers would come in more clearly. That the path would be lighted and the darkness lifted. However, on the walk of life, the road gets more and more complicated. The greatest philosophers in all of history could not define the meaning of life or solve any of it's mysteries. It is everywhere and in everything, yet no one can capture the meaning. For since the creation of time, every human being has asked the question, "What is the meaning of life?". Life always has and always will remain an endless mystery.

“And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.”

-Abraham Lincoln