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My first journalism class at STU is one of those moments I’ll never forget. “The Queen just died,” interrupted one of the students while...

Since I can remember, writing has always been my passion. Being a bookworm from the moment I learned how to read gave me this curiosity...

As the final days of my university life pass by they are defined by one thing – The AQ. My path to The Aquinian was not linear but I got...

<p>I left Ecuador almost three years ago, and since then, I haven’t come back. Being so far away from your country changes your relationship with it. Even though I have kept in touch with my family and some high school friends, Ecuador now feels distant and a bit foreign, like I don’t belong there anymore. [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Growing up in Mexico made me proud of my roots.  There hasn&#8217;t been a day away from home that I didn&#8217;t miss it. In Mexico, there is not a place where you will not find the history, colour and incredible aromas of our gastronomy. I miss being able to walk the streets of Mexico, find [&hellip;]</p>

<p>As a journalist, I am constantly consuming news. It’s my job, after all — to be informed, to know what’s happening here and everywhere. Many only start tuning into what’s going on in the world as they get older, but for me, it all began the second I was born.  Peru is a land of [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Some of the Caribbean islands gurgled up from volcanic spit and into rocky chunks of land. The islands are known for their beautiful beaches, but have you seen the mountains? You can see the way Trinidad and Tobago’s mountain ranges reach for the Andes like a puzzle piece. But the islands, Trinidad and Tobago, became [&hellip;]</p>

<p>With the celebration of the Multicultural Fair on March 26, where international students at St. Thomas University share their cultures through performance, fashion and traditional food, many are reflecting on their home countries. The Aquinian’s social media and advertising editor, Estefania Martinez, compiled stories and photographs from several students with their memories from home. “The [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I have a complicated relationship with my home. I grew up in a small blue house on the coast of Maine. The house is tucked into the woods, but it is only a short five-minute walk to the ocean. When I think of home, I think of that walk. I think of the summer nights [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Engines ready. Belt fastened. Thrusters standing by. Beginning launch in 3 – 2 – 1. It was 2019; COVID-19 did not exist. The future was hopeful and thrilling and I knew who I was, or so I thought. Back then, I remember being nervous and excited the first time I took a plane to Canada [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I haven&#8217;t been able to go back home to Honduras since December of 2019 and a lot has changed since I came to Canada. Even though I haven’t been there in a long time, I still remember my home country as if I never left. There are countless things that I miss about Honduras; the [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I have no physical home, I have people I call home. I have built my life in houses only to find home in the people that I love and the places I frequent. Growing up with three citizenships was not as easy as people might think. Privileged? Yes. Easy? No. I am a Mexican-Canadian with [&hellip;]</p>

<p>My favourite Honduran phrase is “La H no es muda” which translates to “the H isn’t silent.” This is commonly said whenever Honduras excels at something but nowadays, I think it applies more to the citizens whose screams for freedom echo throughout the country in hopes to dismantle the corrupt web of those who govern [&hellip;]</p>

<p>The word that comes to my mind when I try to sum up the situation in Peru is chaotic. From the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to the political instability back home, we can&#8217;t catch a break. I remember watching the news with my family on Nov. 9 when congress voted to vacate former president Martín Vizcarra, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>I had always yearned for an international life, but COVID-19 is the worst nightmare come true for someone from India who studies in Canada and has a partner from France. Travelling while studying and interning remotely was an idea that I always entertained in the pre-COVID-19 world. When St. Thomas University announced that the 2020-2021 [&hellip;]</p>

<p>When I first walked into the Madrid-Barajas Airport on March 13 to catch a flight back home to Colombia, the place seemed deserted. I couldn’t tell if that was a good sign, or a bad omen. I hoped the airplane would be empty, but at the same time, I was scared an empty plane meant [&hellip;]</p>

<p>When a school principal died, infecting almost the entire staff and students, it was finally confirmed COVID-19 entered my country, Panama. A national emergency and full lockdown was declared. On paper, quarantine meant 40 days, but the situation was so mismanaged we had to spend seven months locked inside our homes instead. While spending the lockdown [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Jupiter. Who knew that a place named after a giant planet would feel so small and claustrophobic? In Jupiter, Florida where I now live with my family, there’s no place to go. When I am not studying, I work out, watch TV or spend time with my family. We eat together. We share the same [&hellip;]</p>

<p>On March 17, I booked an emergency flight back home to Ecuador. The government was closing the borders before midnight the next day and the only thing on my mind was how scared my family felt. The next day, I landed in Ecuador at 4:30 a.m. and the airport was packed. I was covered in [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Waking up to snow everyday for half of the year isn&#8217;t my normal. Why? I am from the beautiful island of Jamaica where it&#8217;s always sunny and I never have to wear seven layers of clothes to keep warm. Lush greenery and palm trees cover the parish of Westmoreland, home of the Seven Mile Beach in the [&hellip;]</p>