Traveler Bio

Hey, ya'll! I'm Marcus Villagran, an undergraduate student studying Journalism, Sociology and International Affairs at the University of Nevada, Reno. I'm also a grateful recipient of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, which is funding my journey to India! I was born in Long Beach, California, but I spent most of my childhood growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada. My father is from Mexico and my mother is from Cambodia, a country in Southeast Asia. 

It may be surprising to learn that I knew very little about India before deciding to study here! In a weird way, it was that lack of knowledge that convinced me to come here. India is an important country politically, culturally and economically. It had the fastest growing economy ahead of China in 2015, and it is the country with the second largest population at over one billion people. A country this significant was one that I could not go on knowing so little about! 

I have been studying in the South Indian city of Bengaluru for a few months now and I'm delighted to say that studying here has been a very rich and rewarding experience thus far. There are high-energy Bollywood movies, tasty foods, noisy roads and cows (yes, there are actual cows that walk the streets here!). I look forward to sharing all the exciting new things that I learn with you.