Travel

I used to love going to the airport. It used to be the prelude to an adventure novel. I was embarking on the Airbus A380 to a pirate’s island; readying myself for a scavenger hunt in the dreamy Abomey, Benin; preparing for a historical trip to see the wonders of Turkey; or flying across the Atlantic to the city that never sleeps.

I don’t remember much about the movie Sully, in which Tom Hanks plays the heroic pilot who crash-landed a plane on the Hudson River in 2009, but I do recall the thrill of watching the flight attendants do their jobs so well. As the plane nosedives, they leap into action in unison. They issue impossibly calm instructions and usher the passengers onto the wings while the cabin fills with ice-cold water. Everyone survives.

The weather’s been getting warmer and the days longer, and we all know what that means—summer is just around the corner. Though it may not feel like it, we’re officially halfway through the spring semester, and therefore, it’s time to plan for summer. If that thought sends you into a tailspin, take a second to relax—from internships to jobs to relaxing itself, Spectrum’s got you covered with some options on what you should do this summer.

Since coming back from studying abroad last semester, I’ve had the same exchange over and over again, on College Walk, by text, in the EC elevator—I’ll run into someone I haven’t seen since December who excitedly asks: “How was it?!”

Sign up for that registry, and beg your distant relatives to send you money, because it’s time to start packing for college.

Tamila Pashaee, GS ’17, may not see her son again.

The University announced an updated international travel policy Wednesday requiring itinerary review and approval for high-risk travel affiliated with Columbia.

Elena Nicolaou, a senior at Columbia College, is the editor in chief of Now!Here, Columbia International Relations Council and Association's travel journal, along with fellow Columbia College senior Rebekka Troychanskiy. Nicolaou is studying English with a concentration in modern Greek studies. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.