Irin Carmon

Class, please study your upgrade skills before takeoff
As I settled into my seat, purchased on Student Universe and as far as humanly possible from the opulence of first class, I wondered: Is my comfort-first ensemble holding me back from a random promotion to luxury? Or is it utterly impossible for a lowly student to beat the system and get some undeserved perks onboard?

The year of living internationally
“By now, homesickness has probably eased out, and the awkwardness of foreign language conversation has lessened. For the roughly 160,000 US students who study abroad, nearly double the figure of a decade ago, according to the most recent figures from the Institute of International Education, this can be a life-changing time.”

Following their dreams down to Buenos Aires US expats remake their lives after 9/11
Whether bored by their post-college lives, driven out by political disaffection, or mindful of the increasing importance of the Spanish language, young of America are flocking to Buenos Aires.
This article was accompanied by a sidebar.

It is a capital place to learn
They transform the landscape of this city, arriving eager to climb the ladder, acquire some skills, pad their resume, and course, get to know Washington. They’re the interns, emerging from post-Lewinsky infamy in an increasingly institutionalized summer ritual.

Israel rounds up migrants in deportation campaign
For Ben Arellano, it has been a long night: an arrest on the street in the nearby seaside community of Bat Yam followed by uncomfortable sleep on the floor of the makeshift waiting room of Tel Aviv’s Immigration Police headquarters. At dawn, Arellano rubs his eyes and slumps back in the plastic deck chair, waiting to be called.

New Rules Keep Students Away
In the nearly three years since Sept. 11 changed the way the United States thinks about foreigners on its soil, those seeking to enter the country to study, visit, or work have faced more barriers than ever in recent memory. Even as routine settles on the new Department of Homeland Security, and initially broad security concerns find their focus, the number of foreign students, tourists, and young seasonal workers granted entry continues to decline. Why care about young people coming here from abroad? For one thing, there are reverberations of a most practical nature. The Globe reported recently that the New England tourism industry is facing a shortage of temporary workers for the high season, mainly young people who come from abroad and wash dishes or wait tables in exchange for a taste of the American experience.

In center of Mideast conflict, hope, uncertainty, and violence
By Charles A. Radin, with research assistance by Irin Carmon

With classes done, find yourself on a road-trip adventure
In childhood and parenthood alike, road trips mean quality time in the back seat, punctuated by theme and national parks, car games, and extended bouts of complaining. But in the giddy interim, starting the moment the car keys get handed over in high school, the road trip becomes a symbol of freedom.
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‘Easy does it’ is Austin’s theme
This is junkyard chic, with an ethos of relaxation to put hurried Northeasterners to shame, and people are doing their homework. At the garden of Spider House, a cafe-bar, university students sun themselves under tangled vines and among lawn gnomes. They sip sangria over Sartre and laptops.

Arkansas trip centers on folk music, fishing
In the mental geography of most Yankees, Arkansas is delineated by the births of Bill Clinton and Wal-Mart, by the quintessence of country that was the ideal foil for Paris Hilton’s glitz. As cautious outsiders who have come to learn, however, we have no desire to reenact “The Simple Life.” We are willing to get our hands dirty, and that willingness will be put to the test when we’re up to our elbows in fish innards after trout fishing.