Andrew S, Fall 2025, Mechanical Engineering, Moving The Cities
Moving The Cities was an amazing experience, combining the academics we’ve learned at The University of Pittsburgh with the experience to travel and not only be immersed in a culture, but also learn from those who came from other states and countries as well. With staff and students from 5 different countries, we all got to experience a great amount of cultural exchange, and in my group at least, we bonded a lot over food.
Trying new cuisines has always been one of my favorite parts of traveling, and I was very lucky to have locals to show us what was what, and where to eat. From the very first day, we were welcomed with a meal prepared by one of the participating school’s culinary institutes and I learned all about ceviche and pastel de choclo- a dish similar to shepherd’s pie but substituting mashed potatoes with a delicious and dense corn mash. Sharing meals is a great way to bring people together, and dietary restrictions can sometimes make that difficult. In our group though, we had 4 vegetarians, 2 of which were from Chile, which made it much easier to include everyone when exploring and finding new food experiences.
Toribio, one of my best friends I met on the trip was just as much of a passionate eater as I am and spared no effort to introduce me to completos, sopapillos, and my favorite above all the meat egg and potato empanadas that could be bought on most streets. Of course, on this study abroad experience we were there to work and learn but sharing experiences, languages, stories, and cultures over dinner made the whole trip that much better and the friendships that much closer.
Swanson School of Engineering 