Search results for: “summer”
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Does Toxic Masculinity Exist in London?
Recently, I spoke with several male friends studying in London, either full-time or with IFSA, to discuss if toxic masculinity exists in London, and how it differs from where they’re from. I was surprised to find so much overlap in their responses! Alex, who attends Pomona College in California but is studying at University College London with IFSA…
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Seeing Through A Different Lens: The Benefits of Studying Abroad as an LGBTQ Student
As I prepared for my 4-month IFSA study abroad program in Buenos Aires over the summer of 2019, I had a lot of questions about what my semester in Argentina would be like. In addition to the usual concerns about academics, the language barrier and adjusting to social life in a different country, I had…
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My Home-Stay Experience: From Terrified to Incredibly Grateful
At First, I Was Nervous About Being Assigned a Home Stay Ringing the doorbell on my rainy first day in Buenos Aires, I was terrified to meet my host mom. We’d exchanged one email each, and from her minimal response to my cheery introduction and extensive questions, I thought she was going to be terrible,…
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Everywhere is a Classroom: Learning Through Internships Abroad
Before I moved to Melbourne, I thought of my semester abroad like a hands-on research experience. As an Urban Studies major, I had spent years studying and discussing all aspects of urban life — city governance, urban planning, social inequity, affordability, transportation, design, and so on. Over and over again, critical discourse on how to…
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What are Seasons? I’m From Hawaii!
The first time I experienced seasons, I was 17 years old. My whole life up until my freshman year of college was spent on a tropical island where “cold” was 70 degrees Fahrenheit, leaves stayed attached to branches, and the sun never set earlier than 6PM. Nearly every day was a beach day. I started to…
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Greek Life and Study Abroad: Why You Should Go for It!
From a Small Sorority to a New School in a Big City Best friends, big/little reveal, bid day, formals, mixers, Greek Week, Executive Board, apparel, philanthropy events… these are some of the best parts of being in a sorority. Leaving these behind for a semester or even a year can be a huge deterrent in…
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How To Overcome First Generation Hurdles While Studying Abroad
Let me start by saying that I am a first-generation college student who grew up in poverty. I have also struggled with depression and anxiety for most of my life. At one point, I started failing classes and had to drop out of college for a year and a half. Studying abroad has always been…
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How I Made The Most of My Academics Abroad
How I Made The Most of My Academics Abroad Decision to Study Abroad as a STEM Major [caption id="attachment_14821" align="alignright" width="225"] One of the locations of my Marine Biology lab practicals. We went to Maroubra beach and collected data on the algae along the rocky shores.[/caption] Studying abroad in college was something I knew that…
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Navigating Relationships Abroad
Navigating Relationships Abroad: Three Kinds of People You’ll Miss When you leave the country for three months, you take your life into account. Affairs must be put in order: bags packed, calls made, storage containers rented and filled. The practical takes precedence and you become objective in your choices, taking only what you need. Then…
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How Study Abroad Helped my Mental Health and Emotions
Mental Health Back Home My emotions are something I’ve struggled with a lot in the past. In particular, I feel this at my home university because at Colby I feel stressed and sometimes lonely. Being so far away from home at Colby is hard. I always miss my family and the comfort of Chicago: of…