Category Stories: Family Matters
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Home Away from Home
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Being a first-generation student in my family, and certainly the first to study abroad, my arrival in Scotland came with many mixed feelings of excitement, anxiety and pure displacement. After orientation in Edinburgh I was taken to my apartment, generously under the direction of the IFSA staff, who also gave me a wonderful initial tour…
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Forging a New Path, Revisiting an Old One
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One of the reasons I studied abroad was to explore what I was capable of doing on my own. I wanted to have a completely unknown adventure and to further myself from the comfort of my own home and family.Little did I know, I would encounter more family and be welcomed into a new home…
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Why Studying Abroad Was About More Than Me – A Digital Story
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“I’m so glad my decision to study abroad provided my dad and brother with the opportunity to visit Australia as well.”Margie Hislop originally formed questions about her abroad experience based on her own personal experience, not remembering that her inspiration to go abroad stemmed from her father. https://youtu.be/5oSUO9DbE74 Margie H. | Psychology student | Susquehanna…
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Building a Family Abroad – A Digital Story
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“My friends taught me what it was like to truly care for myself… My family abroad will be my family forever.”Queen Mary Fall 2017 student Rachel Godfrey describes making lasting friendships and connections while studying abroad in England. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2gq48NE0eQ Rachel G. | African American Studies and Science in Society student | Wesleyan University | Queen…
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Skyping Home: Two World Collide
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When I walk through the gates of my host family’s home, I already feel comfortable and at ease. My ammaa Puja and I can sit and talk for hours; she tells me stories of her youth, her university days in Paris and the drama of her different boyfriends, how she knew she should marry my…
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How My Host Mom and I Almost Moved
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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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How I Coped with Losing A Loved One While Abroad
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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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Dealing with Family Loss While Abroad
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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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“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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Studying Abroad with my Family Abroad
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Experiences Living with my Japanese Peruvian Family in Lima For a long time, Peru was somewhere I was curious about. I’d heard mentions of it from my dad, though he didn’t like to talk much about his years living there before moving to the US.I’m half Japanese Peruvian. My dad was born in Lima, Peru;…
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