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Category Stories: Alumni Reflections

  • 4 Reasons You Should Do an Internship Abroad

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    4 Reasons You Should Do an Internship Abroad

    It’s 6:30 AM and my alarm goes off.By 7:30, I’m out the door and headed to the train station. I catch the train and then make it to the ferry, my new favorite form of transportation. As I cross Sydney Harbour, I sip my tea and catch a glimpse of the Opera House passing me…

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  • How I Learned to Speak Chilean

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    How I Learned to Speak Chilean

    What is the official language in Chile? Many sources would say Spanish, but that’s not entirely true.At least, the Spanish I learned in Chile was not the Spanish I was taught in the six years leading up to my trip. As I prepared for my study abroad experience, I knew that I still had room…

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  • How My Host Mom and I Almost Moved

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    How My Host Mom and I Almost Moved

    Growing up, I moved with my parents twice across the country, and we often reflect on the moving experience as a stressful but exciting time. For the first two months of my semester abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a real estate agent weekly showed the apartment I shared with my host mother to potential buyers,…

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  • Academics Abroad: It’s Not Better It’s Just Different

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    Academics Abroad: It’s Not Better It’s Just Different

    Nine hours of total class time throughout an entire week may seem like nothing in comparison to the American system where each class has roughly this amount each week.  During my time abroad at the University of Edinburgh, I had exactly that. Nine hours of a class per week. On top of that, all of my…

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  • Don’t Forget Academics When Choosing a Study Abroad Program

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    Don’t Forget Academics When Choosing a Study Abroad Program

    At Kenyon, it seems that most students study abroad primarily to immerse themselves in a different culture. Some do this to become more proficient in the language, others to explore hands-on the history or culture, and some simply want to get out of rural Ohio. And these are all fair and good reasons to study…

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  • How I Coped with Losing A Loved One While Abroad

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    How I Coped with Losing A Loved One While Abroad

    I will never forget my 21stbirthday, not because I was spending it on an incredible Spring Break Trip in Australia, although that certainly helps make it a bit more memorable. No, the reason I will never forget this birthday is because it was the day I found out my grandfather had passed away. When I…

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  • GAA and Me: Looking Into Social Connections Through the Use of Sport

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    GAA and Me: Looking Into Social Connections Through the Use of Sport

    When thinking about Ireland, the most common preconceptions are rolling greens hills, creamy black Guinness, and soaring gray rainclouds. However, one of the defining features of my Irish experience was the Gaelic Athletic Association (or GAA) and its tradition of Irish pride and cultural identity. By participating in GAA at Trinity College Dublin, I was…

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  • Dealing with Family Loss While Abroad

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    Dealing with Family Loss While Abroad

    Going abroad is exciting and wonderful but can also be a little intimidating. Leading up to my departure to Edinburgh, I had all those conflicting feelings. I had asked all the necessary questions to students who had studied in Scotland and I felt confident in my abilities and ecstatic for the opportunity to live in…

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  • Living With a Host Family | Love, Language, and Learning

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    Living With a Host Family | Love, Language, and Learning

    “Cabra chica, a comer!” My host mom endearingly called to me from the kitchen when it was meal time. I helped set up and the two of us, along with my host sister and dad, sat down for an evening meal called “once”. This is a particularly Chilean meal that resembles an extravagant tea time more…

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  • A Feminist in Chile

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    A Feminist in Chile

    Where to go? Being a woman, much of life is different for me and studying abroad is not an exception. From contemplating where to go, to actually studying there, there are extra considerations. As a strong feminist who is extremely critical of the United States’ gender issues I was intimidated about what study abroad would…

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