Whether you’re exploring the markets in Morocco or wandering the streets of Florence, your Fighting Irish T-shirt will surely stand out in the crowd. Check out these outsider tales:

“Most female students with blonde hair can expect to be called ‘rubia’ [literally meaning “blonde”] on the street in Spain. You learn to adapt to cat-calling because men treat you differently. Most of it isn’t offensive or rude like they are hitting on you. It’s more that they appreciate the fact that you are blonde, and you are there. They say things like, ‘You are so beautiful – God bless your mother!’ instead of ‘Oh, baby!’”

• Lisa Derus, 23, studied abroad in Granada, Spain

“Everywhere I went in Tanzania people were hollering ‘mzungu’ [“a white person”] at me. At first it seemed insensitive. I would be asked things like, ‘Mzungu, give me money?’ One person had never seen a white person before and started touching my skin. But later I realized it was very light-hearted. I even knew other volunteers in our group that bought shirts saying, ‘I heart mzungus.’”

• Abby Buckman, 23, volunteered with Cross Cultural Solutions

“At 6’3 I was taller than a lot people in Taiwan. I decided to play a pick-up volleyball game and was made fun of because of my height. When I would jump, I would be a lot higher up than everyone and had long arms, so they started calling me ‘bird man.’ When you’re in a different culture being called ‘bird man,’ you really have to have fun with it.”

• Jon Hosler, 25, traveled to Taiwan for business

“I found out that it isn’t socially acceptable to talk on public transportation in France. Even by U.S. standards our group got obnoxiously loud and the only noise you heard on the train were Americans talking. If you do ask locals questions, they won’t ignore you, but you’ll receive some weird looks.”

• Erika Lans, 23, studied abroad in London

“Every country I've been to except India and Thailand has trouble understanding vegetarianism. I explained – in extensive detail – all the things I didn't eat to my host mother in Spain. The next day she made pork, and the following day she made whole fried fish – eyes intact. Then she just resorted to feeding me Nutella sandwiches and melon. In Egypt, they don't even understand the Arabic word for ‘vegetarian,’ and in Japan, every time I asked for a vegetarian meal at a restaurant, the whole place would look at me and whisper ‘gaijin,’ meaning foreigner.”

• Jinny Khanduja, 26, traveled to 31 countries