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Program: IFSA

We all wanted to improve our Mandarin language ability and to experience living in a big and vibrant city with great public transit. The main class we took was a Chinese language class. We also took humanities classes, Chinese Society in the 21st Century and China: Economic Giant. The language class was great! We all loved our language teachers.

Travelling everywhere was one of our favorite memories. We got to explore so much of China: Beijing, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Huangshan, Shenzhen, Yiwu, Jingdezhen, and Wuzhen. It was so easy and affordable to take high speed rail and get anywhere in the country. We often got good hotels for around $50 per night, for the three of us. Getting around each city was also super easy, with subway, rental bikes, and taxis all being really cheap and fast. 

Some advice - Just do it—studying abroad gives you a completely different experience than going somewhere as a tourist. Now we want to be back in China but not as a tourist, we just want to be there and live there!

Program: DIS

What sparked my initial interest in studying abroad in Denmark was to join the Danish Freestyle Unicycling team. Upon further research, I learned how Copenhagen not only values one wheel but has redesigned its city to focus on bikes and walkability. With an interest in urban studies, I took a course where we observed and interviewed people in public spaces to understand the elements that craft a people-centric city. I also took Biology of Marine Mammals, Waste Management, Data Science, and Geographic Information Systems.

My favorite class was Waste Management, it was fascinating to learn how Denmark manages waste using incineration. Through touring one of the plants (and skiing on top of the other), I learned how they use the heat and electricity generated to power part of the city. While they are in the process of installing a carbon capture system, many obstacles are slowing the installation.

A favorite memory was when I biked around the city on a troll hunt. A Danish designer named Thomas Dambo and his team have built hundreds of wooden trolls made from recycled materials located around the world. With many trolls hidden around Denmark, my friend and I biked around town to find them.

My advice to those interested in studying abroad is to engage with locals in ways such as volunteering or joining a club. There are many new people to meet and stories to hear. 

Program: IES

I chose to study in Milan because it is the business capital of Italy and close to travel around Europe. I took Strategic Management, Venture Capital, Business Modeling, and Italian. I enjoyed my venture capital class a lot!

One of my favorite memories from my time abroad was traveling to Cinque Terre, a coastal city to the west of Milan, with friends from the program. I learned enough Italian to meet some locals and get restaurant recommendations, now it is one of my favorite spots in Italy!

Some advice...Go for it! Push your comfort zones and make space for community. Other exchange students are there for the same reason. Be spontaneous and take advantage of being abroad to immerse yourself.

Program: DIS

I’ve never been to Europe before, and I wanted to use studying abroad as an opportunity to live and travel there.

Copenhagen stuck out to me because of how highly everyone spoke about it - it’s successful in public transportation and sustainability efforts, a super safe city, easy for English-speakers to navigate, and progressive in its architecture developments. Additionally, I heard really positive things about the DIS program, and all of them have held true!

In my first few weeks here, I got to attend a “fællesspisning” – a tradition of communal eating for socializing with strangers. It was hosted in Absalon Folkhouse (a former church turned into a community center), which hosts this style of dinner for about 200 people each night. It was very cool to see the tradition in action. Also, the food was amazing, and I also met one of my close friends here from that dinner!

Program: API

I love the outdoors, and New Zealand is THE place to go for that.

I took a broad assortment of classes I'm interested in. An intro psychology course, a finance/economics course, professional wine tasting, and digital fabrication.

My friends and I ferried out to an island near our University and hiked a dormant volcano. The island has some lava caves that formed during previous eruptions, and I got to spelunk through all of them until I climbed out a hole in the ground somewhere random off trail!

Program: SFS

I wanted to learn more about environmental studies and conservation, and this is one of the prettiest places on Earth.

I chose this particular program because SFS is very fieldwork based and hands on; I get to travel around and engage closely with the landscape as part of my studies!

Just go for it! It's going to be a little scary, but it's an awesome experience. Keep your expectations in check. You will be learning lots of things, and a lot of that will be outside the classroom and hard to predict. You will learn more about yourself, from trying to make friends and explore a new place, and the learning from classes may take a backseat to some of that. Be okay with that, and open yourself up to different types of learning.

Program: SAI

One moment I look back on fondly is a trip to Nesso. I explored the quiet town, discovering its beauty by being on the lake, which houses waterfalls, a castle, and a mountain we hiked. My friends and I captured pretty views, sang songs up the way, joked, told stories, and, most importantly, had a taste of nature.

From Sorrento, it is so easy to visit neighboring towns that are just as charming. Between classes I loved hoping on the train and visiting a new town and beach. The Gulf of Naples is truly so enchanting, and these little excursions made me so grateful for this study abroad experience, which has so far been the best few months of my life.

Try to live like a local as much as possible. I explored the city picking up produce from the fruteria, getting pasta and bread made fresh from a family-owned store, and freshly caught Mediterranean octopus from the pescaria.

Program: SIT

Both the best and worst thing about this program is that it changes every month, because you have to say goodbye to so many incredible people, but you get to meet so many more.

I went to a queer comedy/poetry show and it was incredible to see so many people in the LGBT+ community, my community, on the other side of the world, being unashamedly themselves in all of their extravagant glory. It gave me hope for the future, because we're everywhere. It's not a young movement, and it's not an Americentric one. It's global, and, despite so many other differences, it's loving.

Program: IES

I really enjoyed my computing class, Solving Modern Programming Problems in Rust, which examines classic computing concepts through the lens of a new up-and-coming language, Rust.

In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I'm currently working on bringing an adaptation of that class to Olin next semester as a student-led course!

While I was abroad, I joined Coogee Run Club, a local group that would meet right on Coogee beach and goes for some runs along beautiful coastline routes from Clovelly down to Maroubra. My favorite days were Thursdays, where we'd start bright and early to watch the sun rise as we ran a few miles, then go for a swim and grab a coffee before folks headed to work or school.

Program: SIT

This comparative climate studies program allowed us to study the impacts of climate change from three very different environments.

During our time in each country, we lived with a host family, where we got to learn about daily life and culture in each place. We did a lot of traveling and visited a host of cities in each country along with some fascinating environments like the sand dunes of the Sahara, the Jungle and Himalayas in Nepal, and the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador.

One of our favorite memories from abroad is climbing to Kapuche Glacier Lake. In class in Nepal, we were learning about the harsh effects of glacier lake outburst floods frequently, and visiting the site was beautiful, but also a way to understand what a glacier lake is and how it can be detrimental to many communities if it bursts. The hike was very fun, extremely tiring, and brought us closer to our new friends!

Program: API

I have loved being a part of the University College Dublin ultimate frisbee team. It has been a great experience connecting with others through a sport I did not realize was as universal as it is.

Don't worry about any fears you might have about being in a new environment or going to a bigger institution. I was worried about both, but there were so many people in the exact same situation that it was easy to fit in. Being outside of the Olin bubble has been challenging in some ways, yet it has also felt freeing in other ways.

Program: API

My favorite memory from abroad was cracking up at late-night picnics by the bridge.

My advice for a semester abroad is to set loose goals early, social and academic. Time really flies!

I studied psychology and my favorite class I took was one called Understanding the Self. Although it was a bit difficult to get in the groove of reflection, it was fascinating to learn about past thinkers definition of selfhood and apply it to my own life.

Program: DIS

My favorite class is Strategies for Urban Livability. In this class, we learn how to observe urban life and about the things, big and small, that make our urban environment more livable. We spend most of our class time walking or biking around the city, counting cyclists, observing the "desire paths" that people walk, and more.

Don't be afraid to live your life in the city where you're studying. Do the touristy things, but also just find a rhythm of life amidst new surroundings and a new culture. Sure, take some time to travel and see other places, but don't forget to get to know your city!

One favorite memory from my time abroad so far is lying in bed on a night train through rural Finland, watching constellations in the sky while snowy trees zipped by.

Program: SAI

I like not having to depend on transportation to get everywhere and in Florence you can get anywhere on foot in the city within 40 minutes.

My advice for people thinking about studying abroad....take the risk and do it. The most growth happens outside of your comfort zone.

I took part in the SAI free weekly activities called VIVA Experiences. My favorite activity so far has been the Street Food tour which took a group of SAI students, led by a Florence local, around to locally owned restaurants. My friends and I discovered great local spots to visit throughout the semester as well as the best hidden Pizzeria in town.