The first speech of the series will take place today at the UF International Center at 1 p.m.
Mussa Sultan Idris, a cultural anthropology Ph.D. student will discuss his experience traveling from Eritrea to the United States and the political differences between the countries.
"It's a good way to be able to meet someone from a place you never knew existed necessarily," said Heather Barrett, program development assistant for the center.
Barrett said there would be four speakers this semester. If they generate a lot of interest, she said, there would be more in the spring.
The speakers are international students and students who have studied abroad.
The next speaker of the series, Jessica Ducey, a UF alumna, will speak Sept. 17.
Ducey has studied abroad six times, and after giving her speech, she will leave to work for the Peace Corps in Ethiopia for two years.
Barrett said experiencing different cultures and being among their people is an important part of life.
"I've traveled abroad many times, and each time I come back a different person," Barrett said. "It opens your eyes in ways you wouldn't expect."
Deadlines for study-abroad scholarships are coming up, and Barrett said students should take advantage of them.
The series will probably entice students into studying abroad, but she said that's not the purpose for it.
She said she wanted to create a comfortable forum where students could learn from each other's experiences.
"The experience impacts you in such a way that if you can't share it, it's almost lost," Barrett said. "It's a sort of history."
