Category Stories: Alumni Reflections
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How I Learned to Love Hating Life in the Big City
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I grew up picturing the big city bright and tall in my mind. It was a dreamscape of endless possibilities and exotic people. I grew up in a small rural town in the middle of nowhere, at the base of a mountain range the size of a small state. In Hailey, there were four stoplights…
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Why All Students In Greek Life Should Study Abroad
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Studying abroad is often the best time of people’s lives, at least I know it was for me! Last February, I traveled to Sydney, Australia to study abroad at the University of New South Wales. While this was one of the most unique and exciting times of my life, I would be lying if I…
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Growing Pains
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Growing Pains I can still remember, with absolute clarity, the emotions that surged through my body as the airplane descended through the lush mountains and billowing clouds into the Juan Santamaria International Airport. Joy, excitement, and a hint of anxiety were accompanied by this overwhelming feeling of peace. I had never set foot in Costa…
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Making Your Host University a Home: How Women’s Soccer Transformed My Study Abroad Experience
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As I prepared to go abroad in the fall of 2016, one question continued to worry me about my upcoming studies: how was I going to get involved in a community that I only got to spend half a year with?After all, one of the most significant reasons that had motivated me to study abroad…
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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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