Hi guys! I’m Julia DiMaria, a rising senior (OMG, this is weird), from Long Island, New York. It is currently less than 48 hours until departure time for China and there is certainly a mix of emotions in the air right now, from excitement to nervousness to calm to panic mode that I am forgetting to pack some major things! Nonetheless, my feelings of eagerness to finally land in China have been unwavering throughout my last two weeks home with my family.
So a little bit about me: I am studying Psychology and Global Health, and hope to be a Physicians Assistant…one day. I play on the Varsity Women’s Lacrosse team here at Northwestern and come from a family of 5 kids, in which all 3 of my older siblings also played lacrosse in college, I guess you can say it ‘runs in the fam.’ Traveling is one of my favorite hobbies as I love seeing different cities (although rarely do I find one that compares to NYC…maybe I’m bias ;)), meeting new people, and understanding diverse cultures. I would classify myself as a ‘foodie’, I just think in order to understand culture, we must live it, and for that to happen… we MUST try the most authentic dishes, right?! Often times, people feel that differences in a culture are what separate people, but for me I like to think that differences are what can bring us together as we can learn from each other. This is why I am so excited to study the public health system in China surrounded by a way of life different than one I am used to with all NU friends!!! 