During the spring 2020 semester, I did an independent study with professor Judith Aronson at Simmons University. The idea behind the project was that I studied abroad during the spring 2019 semester in Dublin and managed to travel to 13 countries and over 30 cities. I had a lot of unanswered questions before my semester, and it was pretty difficult to find the answers. I thought that I would put down everything I learned into a travel guide book for students who wish to study abroad in Europe. The book itself has 14 chapters; 1 for each country I visited and 1 for FAQs. In each chapter, I share my recommended things to do, food to eat, places to stay, and more. I also share my personal itinerary and budget for my trip to each of these countries, to show students that it really is possible to visit this many countries on a college student's budget.
The entire book was written and designed by me. The finished copy is approximately 250 pages. Every photo used in the book was also taken by me during my semester abroad. The handwritten font used on the polaroid images throughout the book is a font made with my own handwriting. Each map drawn on the chapter's opening spread was drawn by me, as well as the other icons on the map page.
In addition, I received a Passionate Leaders Project Grant from Simmons University to produce 100 printed copies of the book at the end of my independent study.
Below is an example of the first chapter of my book, which is all about Vienna, Austria. Every chapter follows the same layout and sections as the Austria chapter for cohesiveness. The only difference between the chapters is that each country is assigned a different color in the book.
Chasing Wanderlust Cover
Chasing Wanderlust Front & Back Cover
Austria Opening Spread Infographic
