Miljean Young

I’m originally from San Jose, California. My family is from the Philippines and I can understand three Filipino dialects but I can’t speak them and I don’t really know why. I lived and studied in Brussels, Belgium for five months. During my time there I worked for the BBC Brussels News Bureau. My time abroad was one of the most memorable experiences I’ve ever had. Now, I love Belgian beer. I love Jersey Joe’s cheese steaks and Jersey Shore (please don’t judge me) and I spend my free time hanging out with friends and family. I love music and dancing and I’m always on facebook. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, I’m great at Modern Warfare 2 on Xbox!!

Maricki

I like to see the world inside out. Do you know how I discovered that? When I arrived at work the other day, Simon politely drew my attention to the fact that I was wearing my jersey inside out. “Uups” I said, must be because it’s Monday morning!

I love travelling and experiencing new places and people. I learned that the world appears in many different colours and shades, and it changes depending on how you look at it. When I am not travelling and studying people I love surfing on the internet for the newest trends and odd ideas of people. I especially enjoy tech blogs which explain new gadgets and inventions from people around the world.

Enjoy our colourful blog posts with trends from around the world as we relate our stories to real life and people. And who knows, maybe one day the famous trend of wearing our clothes inside out will be started at Become.co.uk.

Simon Palczynski

Originally from Austria, where I graduated from the FHWien with a B.S. in Marketing & Sales, I have spent the last 4 yours off and on in San Francisco. First I studied at Golden Gate University, and then I did an internship in the city. Now I’m back for another one in Silicon Valley.

Besides hiking and working out, I love skiing and snowboarding (of course as a real Austrian). Last winter I went snowboarding to Lake Tahoe for the first time which was awesome! Furthermore, I like to collect music from all over the world, go to movies, plays or music concerts. I still have an unused gift certificate for parachute jumping that I got from my Austrian friends for graduation, so I hope I can redeem that soon…

Oh, before I forget: I had never seen Sound of Music prior to coming to the US. I’m sorry to disappoint you all but we are not running around in the mountains singing Edelweiss the whole time. ;0)

Isabelle Del Vecchio

Bonjour! My name is Isabelle and I am half French and half Italian.
I love languages and travelling and have been fortunate enough to have lived, studied and worked in several different cities around the world: from my native city of Lyon, to the picturesque winding streets of Torino, to the rustic and rainy charm of Glasgow, to the cold yet fascinating corners of East Berlin and finally ending up in the wonderfully hilly SF that I remember only seeing in Hollywood films.
I love living in San Francisco and even though the sunny weather and California beach culture I imagined seem to be a myth, I appreciate all the wonderful sights and sounds that the Bay Area has to offer.
When I am not wondering around the city with my bike and discovering all the hidden sights of SF, I enjoy relaxing at home cooking a nice meal.
Oh! and of course, I love chocolate and… chocolate and…

Brent Callister

I’m originally from Los Angeles and graduated from Santa Clara University with a degree in marketing. My passion is sports and I’m an avid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Lakers… sometimes I wonder why I live in NorCal.

I’ve played soccer internationally in Spain and France and have also spent a little time in Italy.

If I’m not snowboarding during the winter, I enjoy a good movie… anything that stars Edward Norton (American History X, Fight Club…). I never miss an episode of The Office or Jeopardy and also like to spend countless hours re-watching 24 and Entourage on DVD. There’s nothing like a good board game such as Catch Phrase and Monopoly (preferably with a couple beers).

My other interests include listening to music, (Nas and Rage Against the Machine), finding new places to eat, brewing my own beer, and watching baseball.

My dream is to visit every Major League Baseball stadium and watch a game.

Oh yea, I can solve a Rubik’s cube.

Linda

If I have to say two typical things about me, it would be “fruitaholic” and “travel junkie”. I can barely survive the day without fruit and I love traveling and getting to know different cultures. Coming from a beautiful city with just too much rain, I went to see the world: I lived in New York and California, Australia and Spain, using every semester break to go to countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.

I am a passionate Spanish speaker. Every time I hear Spanish in the streets my heartbeat goes a little faster. I just love the sound of the language. I think it also has to do with the lovely weather—I connect with it and with the big variety of delicious fruit you can find in the markets. I love going to the farmer’s market and buying a lot of fruits to make fruit salad and smoothies.

Nice weather makes a big difference: People seem happier, everybody is outside and you can wear colorful spring and summer outfits. Especially in Spain, I noticed that people like to wear colorful clothes. As for my part, I noticed I have too many black and grey colours in my closet (as you can see in the picture…) The picture was actually taken when I was flying over the city of Hamburg in a Cessna. And after seeing all the colorful containers in the port from above, I promised to buy more colorful shirts from now on!

Manuela Hiller

Two political systems, three different continents and countless National Parks – that’s basically me.

I was born in a country that doesn’t exist anymore and grew up in Germany.  I can really say that experiencing two opposed political systems puts a lot into perspective. My life so far is about travelling and discovering new places and cultures: from the spice plantations of Zanzibar to the Midnight Sun beyond the polar circle in Northern Europe to gorgeous valleys and waterfalls in the United States.

Besides that, I love learning languages (five different ones to date), reading books (preferably historical stuff) and hiking to mountain tops. A variety of outdoor equipment takes up half of our storage space…

I can proudly say that I have seen all the major National Parks in the western parts of Canada and the US. I could probably be a decent guide at one of my favorite Parks: Yosemite.

When not hiking or travelling, I appreciate the relaxing effects of knitting–socks and scarves are no problem, jackets and sweaters might be a tough challenge though.  Speaking of challenges, I always like to accept them as long as I don’t have to climb rocks or walk along steep slopes…

Mandy Herrmann
I love to travel, meet new people and learn their customs and traditions while exploring my new surroundings. I enjoy eating and cooking and I’m constantly on the lookout for tasty new recipes. My passion for food also compels me to sample all the local cuisine when I travel. I love to listen to all kinds of music and give my best vocal performances in the car and shower. I have a degree in Communications and Literature so I talk and write excessively. I’m also getting into golf, where a single shot that flies and lands as planned keeps you hooked and determined to fight through the next bucket full of shots that stray wildly.

But when I’m not doing those things, you’ll usually find me online, chasing the best deal on the cute little dress I saw in Cosmo, or finding that great sale tucked away in the dark corner of the web. Reading others’ blogs helps tremendously. I now know where to get dark chocolate bacon ice cream in Ottawa and where to get great cheap coffee in Chennai. Now all that’s left is getting to Canada or India.

Mikaela Gillette

Hi! My name is Mikaela and I am originally from San Jose, CA but just recently moved from Boston, MA where I had been living for the past five years. While in Boston, I attended Babson College and graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Information Technology. I really loved Boston and life on the East Coast, but am happy to have finally moved. Some other things I also really enjoy is playing with my puppy “Nilla” (a little white maltipoo), finding great deals while shopping whether in person or online, and going to the theatre on the weekend!