Category Stories: Alumni Reflections
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My Greatest Accomplishment in Ecuador was Failure
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It was nightfall when I first stepped off the bus in Salasaca, a Kichwa town of the Ecuadorian Andes. Kichwa is an indigenous nationality and language. By invitation of the young adult leadership program, I would visit for the weekend and assist in English classes. Midnight of the first night, sharing Monopoly and a large…
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Mad to Live: Engaging in Action Sports and Their Respective Communities
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I was extremely fortunate to spend much of my time in South America pursuing my passions and dreams of backpacking, skiing, surfing, and mountaineering. To supplement my memory of the experience I wrote journal entries, landscape descriptions, and poems. Here is a journal entry from 25thof July, 2017 Miercoles, Día 16 con los Avydonkeys, Day 8…
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How to Deal with Weight Changes While Studying Abroad
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You’re Not Alone. Issues surrounding body image, health, and beauty can be pretty difficult to grapple with in general. But what happens when you’re suddenly placed in a new cultural context? While studying abroad, you may realize that the new people around you hold different standards and values when it comes to these subjects, which…
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Never Alone
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If you had an opportunity for the experience of a lifetime, would you go alone? In my journey to go abroad, there were a few things I had to take into consideration: I had to find a great business school, I wanted to be able to compete a full swim season before I left, and…
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The Quest for Tranqui
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It was the second week of orientation. My friend Allie and I were sitting in ParqueBarrancas de Belgrano, one of the many green spaces in Buenos Aires. Barrancas is a grassy hill peppered with trees, where locals sit around drinking mate, throw around a frisbee, or play with their dogs. Allie and I sat there…
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How IFSA Made My Abroad Experience Unforgettable
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Cultural immersion, beautiful natural sights, exotic animals (kangaroos!), and breathtaking live entertainment are just a few of the ways I can recap my experience abroad in Sydney, Australia. In addition to the amazing sights and adventures I took part in, I also made some of the closest bonds with people I will never forget. If…
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Let’s Get Real About Study Abroad: It’s Hard, and that’s Exactly Why You Should Do It
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When people ask me how my semester abroad was, they are sometimes shocked that I don’t immediately respond with, “Amazing!” or, “Incredible!” or, “The best five months of my life!” Most of them are family members or friends who haven’t studied abroad before, so they have the same idealistic image of study abroad that I…
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Is Reverse Culture Shock a Myth or Fact?
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The time has come to return home from a wonderful semester abroad. Though this is a bittersweet time, it is time to finally go home. At some point in your study abroad semester, you probably reached a point where you were just ready to go home. For me, I hit that point, and I couldn’t…
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The Only Thing You Need to Pack When Studying Abroad
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Packing can be Challenging Before leaving for my semester abroad, I had no clue what to pack.Do I bring my pillow? What about my kavu? Am I going to need my favorite book? Should I take three or four pairs of shoes?The day I arrived in Cardiff, Wales, I honestly didn’t know what I had ended…
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Don’t Be “Wasteful” when Studying Abroad
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It is always easier to stick to the known and ignore the unknown because it is “scary,” but the unknown is where the adventures take place.I went to Costa Rica with eight other students from the United States. Initially, I told myself I was going to disconnect from the world, meaning no social media, no…
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