France: End of Program by Grace Peyerwold

However, leaving France means leaving behind breakfasts of fresh baguettes, bustling street markets, conversations with my host father, aimless walks through cobbled streets and alleys, and a group of students that though they come from the US, have backgrounds and opinions entirely different from my own.

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Czech Republic: End of Program by Laurel Messenger

Saying Goodbye and Heading Back Home

This weekend, I will back in the United States. It’s a strange feeling, and it’s hard to fully grasp the idea of leaving Prague and returning home. My emotions are mixed. It doesn’t feel like I have been living here for almost four months. I have seen so much of Prague and explored places of Europe I never imagined I would have the chance to visit. I am so thankful for this experience. While part of me wants to stay and keep exploring, I miss home and am ready to return. While it is time for me to return home, I’m going to miss Prague.

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England: Exchange: Mid Program By Luke Griffin

In terms of meeting new people I’m having a great time. I’m getting to know people that I like from all over the world and learning so much about different cultures and lifestyles. In my flat, my classes, in hostels, all over.. . There’s so many people to talk to and learn from and about and I’m really excited to get to go somewhere new for 6 months and meet even more people!

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Finland: Exchange: Mid Program By Matthew Papaly

Life in Jyväskylä

As my time in Jyväskylä is coming to an end, I just wanted to reflect on what life is like here. First of all, Jyväskylä is a city in central Finland. With a population of 138,000, it is the largest city in the region and I think the 5th largest city in Finland (Finland only has a population of 5 million). It actually feels about the same size as Bellingham and as I’ve mentioned earlier it looks similar too, so my environment is not too different. Part of me regrets choosing to study in Finland because of this, but I’ve made so many amazing friends that I can’t really complain.

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Ireland: Mid Program By Lena Pulve

A Day in the Life…

Now that we have started school, I am very much in a routine. Our schooling is really intense but I absolutely love being immersed in theatre all day.
For those who don’t know, I have been studying at the National Theatre School of Ireland: The Gaiety School of Acting. It is a conservatory style two year program, of which I am only taking the first semester.

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Italy: End of Program & Maintaining International Connections by Kaylee Hersch

End of my Internship Program: Preparing for Re-Entry & Maintaining my International Connections

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England Arrival: Host Country and Cultural Immersion by Luke Griffin

The university is one of the UK’s most international, which creates an interesting atmosphere. There are many different languages spoken and campus, and a myriad of cultures represented. Many of the other students I’ve met are international.

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Italy: Arrival “Host Country & Cultural Immersion” by Kaylee Hersch

 

“We strolled through the beautiful Venetian streets capturing great photos and memories of our time there. My dreams coming true right before my eyes, seeing the spectacular city. I was so giddy that I didn’t care about only having four hours of sleep on the sixteen-hour plane ride it took to get over here.”

We strolled through the beautiful Venetian streets capturing great photos and memories of our time there. My dreams coming true right before my eyes, seeing the spectacular city. I was so giddy that I didn’t care about only having four hours of sleep on the sixteen hour plane ride it took to get over here.   My first flight was great! I was right behind first class, aisle seat next to two gentlemen who were very kind. That plane ride was only about five hours so I decided to stay awake so that I could sleep on my next flight that would be nine and a half hours. My layover was in Philadelphia and that airport is HUGE! I had to walk from one side to the other and it was about fifteen minutes (I’m guessing) and that whole walk was through a MALL! Serious! There was a GAP , Victoria Secret, Nike store, and more! That was crazy fun to walk through, but I didn’t want to stop to buy things, knowing I was going to Italy. My layover was two and a half hours, so I enjoyed a glass of wine while I waited. There was this big commotion going on where the planes got mixed up on us. We ended up getting a smaller plane than was planned. So they kept announcing over the airport intercom that there weren’t enough seats for everyone on the plane and that they were willing to give airfare credit and accommodations to a hotel and food in order to catch the next flight out the next morning. They needed five people to give up their seats and no one seemed to be taking the offer. The amount they were offering jumped from $500 to $1,000 for airfare credits. I almost took the offer, except I had plans to keep.

 

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Czech Republic: Arrival: “Time Flies When…You Move Across the World” by Laurel Messenger

“When coming to Prague I really didn’t have too many expectations. I hadn’t traveled before so I didn’t know what to expect. I just went into it with an open mind with the idea that anything and everything is possible. The good and the bad.”

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Finland: Arrival: “Orientation Week” by Matthew Papaly

Orientation Week

“So I kinda freaked out when I first got here. I was overwhelmed by being halfway around the world all on my own. I convinced myself that I wasn’t going to make friends and that I would be miserable here. But everything changed once my suite-mate arrived and orientation week started.”

 

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England: Pre-Departure: ISEP Exchange – One Year Studying Abroad in Europe” by Luke Griffin

“When you think about all of the things that you need to get done before you depart it can seem really overwhelming. But if you make a list (for example writing down all the papers I have to collect or what I need to pack) it can seem much more organized and you can start working your way through it. Once I got started with a list like this everything became much more manageable and in the long-term the paperwork and preparation is a momentary (but still important) stress that’s nothing compared to the excitement that I’m going to be able to study in Europe for an entire year.”

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