When Colton Arney was a senior in high school, his English teacher told him about a program that would help set the trajectory for his UVA career. By the end of that fall, he had become a linguistics champion.

This January, UVA students participated in 18 January-term study abroad courses that took them to places as distant and diverse as Ecuador, the United Arab Emirates, India, Kenya, and Vietnam, among other places.

January-Term or J-term as it is popularly known meets at the start of the year and is designed to foster interest in diverse topics students might not have an opportunity to explore during the year. It concludes in mid-January.

UVA Global spoke to four faculty who offered the courses this year about their offerings.

Misa Layne reflects on the J-term class to China and shares how fun, yet competitive game of Ping Pong can be extrapolated to the real world and to international relations.

Abdallah Aljerjawi encourages us to not let differences be a stumbling block, but let to them be a driving force for a shared humanity

Amani Akkoub spent the last day in Shanghai shopping for souvenirs with friends and trying street food stalls.

Margaux Reppert shares the highlights from the last full day in Shanghai - from touring the Shanghai French concession to a river cruise on Hangpu river at night.

Allan Cheng shares his excitement about playing ping pong with students from Fudan University and Shanghai University of Sports