Czech Republic: Mid Program: A Day in the Life by Laura Messenger
Mid Program: “A day in the life”
Senegal: Mid Program: “Alarm to Bedtime as a Study Abroad Student” by Sage Romey
I wake to the first few seconds of Amadou & Mariam’s Welcome to Mali, My roommate’s alarm. The first Lyrics are Africa, Africa, Africa, which is always a nice reminder in the morning. Wake up. « Where Am I? » Queue Lyrics. « Oh right, I’m in Senegal. » I lay in bed for a few moments feeling the heat of the night melt into the heat of the day. Pulling the mosquito net off my bed and tying it up I get ready for the day ahead.
Emma and I sit down and make our morning coffee (or hot coco) with powdered milk, and instant Nescafe from packets. The maid, Binta, comes in with 2 baguettes purchased at the boutique two doors over. We gingerly sip the coco and eat the bread with nutella, or sometimes jam or La Vache Qui Rit (Laughing Cow). We always find time moving faster than it should, and we dash off to school.
The walk to school takes about 15 minutes. We walk past the Police School a corner that borders a round about that is almost always at a standstill with traffic. Every taxi that passes us honks as if to say, « White girls walking in this neighborhood? They must be lost. » We avoid eye contact with the drivers, and nod off the ones who still think we need a ride.
Saying a prayer, or disregarding ones own life, we cross the road and take a shortcut through the Teachers college. « Do these guys even go to school? » Emma remarks, as we walk past the soccer players warming up in the field. There is almost always people playing there, except in the high heat of the day. Sometimes in formalized practices, sometimes just who ever wants to play.
France: Mid Program: “A Day in the life – Summer Abroad in Lyon” by Grace Peyerwold
Ireland: Mid Program: “A Day in the Life” by Brittany Mureno
Spain: Mid Program: “A day in the life” by Olivia Esparza
Mid Program: A Walk Around Seville
The neighborhood I live in is a residential community full of apartment complexes with parks and cafes on every corner. Every morning I walk out of my building to see the locals starting their day, while walking to university I pass plenty of cafes full of families having breakfast together before hurrying off to school and work. The neighborhood, “Los Remedios” is mostly locals and few tourists, which makes it ideal for experiencing Spanish life. The most Spanish place in Seville is “Plaza de Espana”, an architectural masterpiece designed for the 1928 exposition. The ornate brick towers and medieval architecture of the building easily make it the most beautiful place in the city. Before coming abroad I expected many new experiences traveling with many new people. While that has been true I’ve also had many solo traveling experiences that have made me a more independent person. At the beginning of my program I planned to practice Spanish weekly and be fluent by the time that I left. I have stayed consistent with my practice but am not yet fluent, I expect with more consistent practice I will be. In Seville the best access to community engagement are language exchange partners. Every week I meet with locals to practice speaking. After a couple months of weekly meeting I’ve made great friends with some locals and have had a more immersed Spanish experience. Some students have benefited so much from the English practice that we’ve planned to continue speaking by skype after I have returned to the US. For students who are about to study abroad I recommend that they set goals for their semester and constantly reflect on them to not lose sight of where they want to go.
Czech Republic: Mid Program: “A day in the life” by Sarah Zinda
France: Mid Program: “Welcome to the Neighborhood” by Libby Babb
Welcome to the Neighborhood
Sitting in my bedroom at my home stay and looking out my window, I’m reminded of home. It’s strange to me that while I’m over 5,000 miles away from Bellingham, in a completely different country, it doesn’t seem so far away. Maybe it’s because I’m looking out at the pouring down rain and thick fog that’s hanging low on the mountains… I mean, what’s more Bellingham than that? But it also might have to do with the fact that over the last few months, this place has begun to feel more and more like home.
Germany: Mid Program: “Everyday life, surprises, and advice” by Elizabeth Moorhead
Mid Program: Everyday life, surprises, and advice
Living here in Marburg is peaceful, and the living accommodations in the international student dorms are exceptional. My dorm room has twice the space of my shared dorm room back home, and comes with a sink, walk in closet, bed with bedding (there is even a cleaning service for the bedspread but as I’ve been out of town most weekends I haven’t tested it yet), recliner, and several sets of shelves. The rooms are cozy even without anything in them. My dorm is also next to a residential area- something which let my friend and I visit a local Haunted House on this past Halloween. We were able to enter despite being strangers, and it was the high point of our holiday~
France: Mid Program: “La Vie Comme Une Lyonnaise” by Brenna Roach
La Vie Comme Une Lyonnaise
“Life as a person from Lyon”
I have officially been living in Lyon for 55 days, and I can’t help but wonder where all the time has gone? It seems like just yesterday I was getting lost in the public transit or getting locked out of my apartment. (Although I still stand by the fact that the doors here are way less user friendly than at home!)
In these 55 days Lyon has truly become a second home for me, and I’m not looking forward to the day that I have to leave this all behind. I will miss stepping outside of my building and being immediately greeted by the glistening waves of the Saône River, and my walk to class when I pass by at least four boulangeries where the warm scent of fresh baking bread greets me. I’ll miss the swarms of pigeons and the quick bobbing of their heads when I walk to close and they rush out of my way.
Ireland: Mid Program: “A Day in the Life at Maynooth University” by Mikayla Monroe
A Day in the Life at Maynooth University
The past two days we were lucky enough to have 80-degree weather in Maynooth! My International Marketing teacher even taught our afternoon session outside. As I basked in the sun while running errands and hitting up local bakeries for custom birthday cakes for my new friends, I realized that I only have 9 days left until I’m back home in America! My schedule has been hectic since I’ve arrived and I think I’ll take a moment to savor the last of Ireland while I can, starting today with buying one of the best cupcakes I’ve ever had from a bakery in town. Seriously, this cupcake from Elite Confectionary was AH-MAZING. Here’s a quick insight to how my “typical” day goes:
France: Mid Program: “A Day in the Life of a European” by Sebastian Zgirski
A Day in the Life of a European
As I’m writing this blog post, I’m currently in the middle of my fourth week in France, finishing up my finals, and nearing the end of my program. It’s not a mid-program post, so to speak, as it’s way past the middle of my program (life here has literally been non-stop, and I have not had any time to work on my blogs sadly), but even though I am leaving France right after, I will still be in Europe for 4 weeks in Germany and Poland, and so in that way it’s a mid-time in Europe post.
Germany: Mid Program: “Pieces of Home” by Joyia Squires
South Africa: Mid Program: “Things are Starting to Feel Normal” by Daria Gausman
darigoestoafrica.wordpress.com
Things are starting to feel normal
Today marks three weeks since I left Wenatchee to come study abroad, and just a couple days shy of a full three weeks in Stellenbosch. It’s a relief to say things are starting to feel somewhat comfortable and normal here. I have my close friends, I know the immediate area, and at least my weekdays have finally taken some form of routine here.
A typical day for me starts around 7:30 when I wake up for breakfast which is served in the dorms from 7:30-8:30. Breakfast is usually eggs cooked differently depending on the day, some kind of sausage or bacon, tomatoes or mushrooms, and toast. I haven’t quite gotten used to when they serve cold hotdogs as the sausage (seriously, they are absolutely hotdogs), but I think they’re growing on me. After that I walk to class which is about 10 minutes away. Sometimes the morning is a little chilly, but I like the quiet stillness of campus in the morning. The local students are finally starting to arrive since their classes start in a couple weeks. I take one class each week, and it goes from 9-10:30, tea break, 11-1:00, lunch, 2:00-4/5:00. The days are long, but I really lucked out with my Biodiversity class last week since I only had morning lecture and then excursions in the evening. I got to see beautiful coastlines, a botanical garden, a commercial protea farm, and even penguins and a zebra during the outings.
Denmark: Mid Program: “A Day in the Life” by Megan Dale
South Korea: Mid Program: “My Neighborhood and a Day in My Life” by Allison Ogle
My Neighborhood and a Day in My Life
4/11/2017
In Korea, there is a large population and very little space. This means that there are many apartment complexes with many floors. I live in a small apartment complex and I am on the third floor in this walk-up. My apartment building is one of many in the neighborhood that are all sandwiched together. The streets are also quite small. They can fit about one car! I’m also quite close to a subway station. I am probably a 1 minute walk away from the subway! Overall, my neighborhood is pretty quiet and very chill, even though we are very close to a busy main street.
Israel: Mid-Program: “A Day in the Life” by Maytal Abramson
April 7, 2017
A day in the life of my Israel routine. The day usually begins with waking up to the Muslim call to prayer, known as Adhan, at 5 in the morning. It may sound irritating but it’s actually a very calming sound; it also lets me know that I have 2 more restful hours of sleep. For those of you that did the math, great job; I get up at 7am every morning however my schedule changes everyday. Some days I have a Hebrew class and a communications class, other days it’s a mix of Hebrew and dance classes and some days it’s just dance all day long. I really like the fact that I’m not stuck doing the same thing everyday and it also allows me to try new things in Jerusalem (mostly food).
England: Mid Program: “A Day in The Life” by Mikayla Lawrence
A DAY IN THE LIFE
3/31/2017
I knew I was going to love London, but the one thing I didn’t expect from studying abroad was how nice my neighborhood was going to be, and how little I would want to leave it every day. Don’t get me wrong: Westminster Abbey, Piccadilly Circus and all the other tourist spots are amazing, and I love just exploring random parts of the city. But when you live in an area so wonderful that locals ask if you’re a millionaire for being able to afford it, you can understand the appeal (p.s. I’m not a millionaire — I think I just got lucky with dorm assignments).
Tanzania: Mid Program: “A Day in the Life” by Tara Quattrone
A Day in the Life
Every morning for the last month and a half I have woken up in my mosquito net bunk bed to the sounds of birds as the African sun rise makes the sky around me orange. The sun rises and sets much faster on the equator, also creating a much more dramatic coloration for this short time period. Most mornings I take a daily jog up to the Moyo hill (meaning heart in Swahili). This might be one of my favorite activities in this study abroad experience. I am alone which is rare here, and as I get to the top I get to see the Rhotia village below me along with the surrounding villages and mountains. I also get the view of the Manyara lake and conservation area where I got to see my first large African mammals. This open view makes me feel free and reminds me how special it is to be where I am at in that moment.
Australia: Exchange: Mid Program: “A Day in the Life ” by Danika Mogensen
Mid Program: “A day in the life”
Normal Day
The best part about my time in Australia would have to be the people I have met. I am lucky enough to be living with all Australian Housemates in a student share house. My House is only a 10 min. walk from campus or 5 minutes by bicycle. My house is situated closest to the ‘Shortland’ side, which is where all my classes are.
Estonia: Internship: Mid Program: A Day in the life by Dong Dinh
In a nutshell, I have been living and interning in Tallinn, Estonia. Currently with EducationUSA in conjunction with Tallinn University of Technology as an administrative intern. It is currently my 8th week here in the Eastern European country and I can say that some things are great and others are so so.