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Study Abroad Student Gallery
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“Without a doubt, study abroad! It gives you a lot to talk about and guarantees that you will be the most interesting person in a conversation when you’re back at Yale. Unless you’re a BA/MA student trying to get everything done in four years, there’s no reason to miss out on taking classes, getting Yale credit for them, and having the chance to live in an amazing foreign location. Both of my senior essays are going to be War Studies-related, which really speaks to how important the study abroad experience is. I have lived in Beijing and London, and since I feel confident recommending either city, my conclusion is that any non-US city is worth your time. I have also done both summer and term-time study abroad, and I can say definitively that they are NOT the same experience. Too many people go abroad over the summer but they don’t actually become a member of the communities they visited. If you want to be a tourist, summer is fine. If you’re serious about academics and curious about how the world actually works, you need simply to elect Fall or Spring and get out of New Haven.”
--Ned R. Mitchell TD ’09, King’s College London |
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"Be open, be humble, be curious. Get out and go places you might never go. Use public transport - and avoid traveling in large,conspicuous groups because it either makes you a target or intimidating."
"Be ready to step out of the bubble, out of your comfort zone and enjoy it. It was liberating for me to be out of the Yale academic system which is often mindlessly competitive and sometimes unpleasant for someone who enjoys academics, and learning, but does not have the ruthless drive that many people here have. Get involved - don't fall into the trap of staying at home watching soap operas - there are so many wonderful opportunities to do something important or even something fun."
--Maggie Mapondera TD ’09, University of Cape Town (through InterStudy) |
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“Remember that patience is a virtue. “Haraka haraka haina baraka.” If you don’t want to face difficulties, get frustrated, and rethink everything you thought you know about development, then don’t go. It’s not about rising above. It’s about settling down and taking things the way they are. By studying abroad you’re not going to change the world, but you’ll better understand it if you’re open to take whatever the experience throws at you.”
--Nisha Ligon TC ’09, Brown-in-Tanzania |
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"It's an amazing life changing experience, both academically and culturally. It's not an easy place to be, but it is worth it. If you plan on working in theater, do this program. It is life altering."
Leah Franqui TC ’09, National Theater Institute at Moscow Art Theater |
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"Studying abroad was a unique opportunity to rediscover myself, to explore my passions, to make different friends, to live with a new family, and above all, to appreciate the world."
- Yalina Disla, JE '07, Butler COPA, Valparaiso, Chile |
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| Constantin Nicolae Takacs, Silliman College '09 (Term Abroad Program with APA Paris, Spring 2007) climbing up a hill at Honfleur during a weekend trip to Normandy. |
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"Deciding where to study abroad should not be taken too lightly, but the decision to do so should be a no-brainer. I can guarantee that no matter where you'll end up, you'll either love it or you'll learn to love it. One response that
will definitely not occur is regret. Even though I didn't love Denmark when I first arrived, it didn't take too long for the country to grow on me. When I reluctantly returned to the States, all I could think about was how I
had such a great time in Europe.
I deeply miss almost everything about last semester. I especially miss the wonderful pastries, the fabulous Danes walking around in clothes that suggest casual sophistication, the passages over the bridge in order to get to class,
and above all, the sense of independence I gained from learning how to live in a Nordic country that just one year ago I never expected to visit. I am grateful for the DIS program and hope that anyone interested in studying in
Northern Europe consider it."
- Jared Enriquez, ES '07, Denmark's International Study Program |
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"A VERY good way to spend the semester - don't take my word for it, just apply and GO!"
-Vicki Chan, SY '07, Wells College in Seville, Spain |
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"Berlin was just amazing. A huge piece of history was practically in my backyard."
- Rosario Doriott, ES '07, Berlin Consortium for German Studies, Spring 2006 (and IES Madrid, Fall 2005) |
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- Leah Rubin-Cadrain, ES '07,
Pembroke College,
Cambridge University |
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"Going abroad was both a life-changing and life-enriching experience. It has been one of the best decisions of my life. It allowed me to gain perspective and a better sense of self. I feel that I can now make the most of my senior year and really take advantage of all that Yale has to offer. My experience abroad has complimented and enriched my experience and education at Yale. I cannot advocate study abroad enough. Never again will you have such an opportunity to explore and discover. What you experience and learn there about yourself and others will serve you for the rest of your life."
- Melissa Doerken, BR '07, Brown-in Bologna
Fulbright Teaching Assistant in Italy for the 2007-08 academic year |
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"The best thing I've ever done in my whole life. It was exactly what I hoped it would be with surprises that changed my life."
Drew Joia, BR '07,
SIT Australia: Natural & Cultural
Ecology |
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"South Africa is an incredibly complex place. Fascinating, interesting, but complicated. Beside great wealth exists great poverty. I had the opportunity to volunteer with an organization that sponsors various educational and outreach programs in the poverty-stricken townships on the outskirts of the city. These shantytowns, sprawling for miles and miles as far as the eye can see, are one of the many relics of the Apartheid era. Slums like Nyanga, where I worked, hold over one million people, who live in shacks built of whatever scrap material could be found. However, the greatest impression I carried away from my experience there was the overwhelming sense of life I observed in the townships. To the casual observer who drives past Nyanga on the highway, the townships are nothing more than rows and rows of pitiful shacks made from scrap material. But a closer look proves that there is much more here. In fact, Nyanga is a vibrant community, thriving with culture and filled to the very brim with life. There is no sorrow, no shame, just life. It was a beautiful place. I do not mean to say that poverty is beautiful, and my intention is not to exoticize it. I simply mean that it is not ugly, and that to consider it as such is to degrade and belittle the lives of the people who call Nyanga home."
- Nicole Cretacci JE '07, (University of Cape Town)
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"Patagonia is amazing: by day, ski, snowboard, scale glaciers, float past massive icebergs, play with penguins, porpoises and whale pups; by night, in the four hours of darkness, you can see every star in the sky.
A few thousand miles north, you can cable through the rainforest, explore the ruins of Jesuit missions, and witness a world-record amount of water falling over the Cataratas Iguazu. To speak to Argentina's geographical
variation, in a couple hours' bus ride, we traversed snowy mountains, cut through red clay desert canyons, climbed along the ruins of the ancient Quilmes Kingdom and toured a flat, fertile vineyard before landing in the architectural oasis of Salta.
In Buenos Aires, culture and coolness collide. The accent -- Spanish lyrics to Italian music -- echoes the dulcet tones and tapping toes of tango.
Go abroad! Travel and transformation go hand in hand. Your books are beautiful, but you can't learn about yourself within an unchallenging comfort zone of familiar faces and places. Explore the world if you ever want to lead it."
- Michael Kroon (BK '06), Fall 2004, Butler COPA/Argentine Universities Program |
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"My decision to study abroad in Cairo was perhaps my best in college. Not only did I develop my Arabic language skills, learn about Islam's peaceful roots, and debate with native Egyptian scholars, but I gleaned a tremendous amount of insight from my daily interactions with Middle Easterns and Africans. Over my four months abroad, I visited Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank, Israel, Egypt, Greece, and Kenya. In each country, I discussed Middle Eastern culture and politics with natives, toured the old, new, and sometimes dangerous parts of the major cities, and generally had a wild time. Though my study at the American University in Cairo provided the backbone of my experience abroad, my travels and interactions enhanced the experience a hundred-fold. I now feel more worldly and less ignorant, and my studies there have really fueled a desire to travel and see more. I would recommend study abroad to anyone and everyone."
- Matt Harsha-Strong (TC '06), American University in Cairo |
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"Through the School for International Training, I studied French, Cameroonian culture, and conducted independent research. I lived in four host families in five months, with only one that had plumbing. I spent a month studying how cultural context affects prevention programs for the transmission of HIV from mother to child... I came away from Cameroon with confidence in my ability to adapt and succeed in challenging situations, and with heightened desire to be a doctor. Unhindered by second guesses or worries for future plans, I have been able to hold on to the gravity and perspective I gained in Cameroon. My wishes have been sifted, and I am left with a simple desire to return to Africa as a physician and help."
-- Anne Radecki (BK '05), studied in Cameroon through SIT in the spring of 2004. |
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Life in South Africa is amazing. I'm having the time of my life. It may be a struggle to return to Yale, but I have 4 months to go, so we'll see. I've gotten involved in Shawco, as you recommended, and it is great. So far we haven't started any actual service, but I'm very excited. It should be enlightening. InterStudy is great. I would recommend it to anyone. The staff are so friendly and helpful, the accommodations are fabulous, and I love the group I'm living with. I'm bubbling over!
Footnote: Six months later, though I miss South Africa and all the wonderful people I met along the way, I am very excited about returning to Yale and picking up the pieces of the life I left behind last December, now enriched by my experience abroad!
--Megan Schuller (ES '05), spring 2005, InterStudy - University of Cape Town, South Africa |
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It's also been really interesting for me to notice all the differences between American and French culture. The French, for example, work only 35 hours a week and everyone has at least 5 weeks of vacation every year! The French are also very laid back and like to take their time for lunch (all the shops are closed for 2 hours everyday) and most stores are closed on Saturday and Sunday. McDonalds are still here but I'm glad that the Starbucks haven't invaded France yet because the French do not like to have their coffee to go - its all about sipping that cup of black French coffee with good company. I also chose Nantes because I heard that, compared to Paris, most people here do not speak English so in that way this city is the best for me to really learn French. But it's been also interesting because I'm one of the few Asians in this city and the whole ethnicity-minority issue only came up once when some French guy was like "oh. une chinoise!" But it's all cool because I like being different here - gives me greater perspective on things!
-- Betty Yip (PC '05) fall 2003, IES Nantes, France |
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Being the first member of my family to return to Russia after three generations of separation, Moscow instantly felt like my true home. Not only was this opportunity the highlight of my college years, but my immersion into the language, lifestyle, and theater of Russia marked the beginning of a lifelong commitment. After graduation from Yale, I'll be moving to Moscow to continue my discovery of this beautiful city
-- Mike Wighton, Fall 2001, National Theater Institute at Moscow Art Theater |
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"The picture from Siena, one of the world's best-preserved medieval cities, is taken from the bell tower in the Piazza del Campo (where the famous Palio horse races are held each summer) and overlooks part of the city as well as the nearby Tuscan countryside. I stopped through Siena to visit a friend while I was on JYA studying in Salerno, Italy. Although it receives its fair share of tourists, it is one of the most beautiful and lost-in-time cities in northern Italy."
-- Vanessa Janowski (JE '04) studied at the University of Salerno for the academic year 2002-03 |
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"This is a picture of me on a hill over looking Lake Titicaca on a trip I took to Bolivia. The indigenous woman in the background is of the Aymara ethnic group. From the classrooms of Chile's oldest university, to the eternal glaciers of Patagonia, from the shores of Lake Titicaca and the Incan Empire, to the wonders of the Amazon, the mind-expanding adventures never stopped while I was on JYA."
-- Chesa Boudin (TC '03) studied in Chile this past year at Universidad de Chile |
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"There really is so much to be learned and experienced at Yale, but to live in another culture and read its books, study at its universities, eat its food, and befriend its people, that is the experience of a lifetime.... The opportunity to travel through Europe and just hop on or off a train and be in a city where you have only read about, or heard about, the sights, history, and culture just blows your mind. You return to the U.S. with a newfound appreciation for it, a far more profound understanding of the world, and an insatiable wanderlust that you will carry with you forever."
-- Marc Silverman (PC '03) studied at Mansfield College in Oxford University |
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"This picture was taken in the region of Wutaishan Mountain in Shanxi Province (Central China). The Wutaishan Mountain region is famous throughout China for its many temples and monasteries. Here, my afternoon plans changed significantly when I ran into this man, a mountain villager, who was thrilled to meet a westerner and very interested in my impressions of his country."
-- Ned Smith (BR '03) studied at Associated Colleges in China, located in Beijing |
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"Lago Amargo is back dropped by the a magnificent mastiff that contains over 50 peaks including the world famous Torres del Paine and Cuernos del Paine. Although the lake's water is very salty and has a crystallized floor, it is populated with pink flamingos and frequently visited by the park's cougars" |
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"This beautiful glacier marks the tip of the southern ice field, and feeds Grey Lake. Ice chunks frequently fall off and as a result the large lake is dotted by dozens of icebergs (ranging in size from a small intertube to a large yacht)." |
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Going abroad was absolutely worth the sacrifices, and staying long enough to feel like you have adapted to the culture was priceless.
My time in Chile was very fun, but also very real. Real in the sense that it wasn't just a drawn out vacation, and I was facing the same types of challenges and issues that I would face in the United States. By focusing on taking in the culture and adapting to it, I felt that I was an active part of the city I lived in and not just a tourist. Basically study abroad is what you put into it. You are given a general forum and you can choose your direction, adventure and academic difficulty. I found that the way I was able to get the most out if it was by integrating myself as much into the country as possible and taking part as if I were a Chilean student. You can always be a tourist, or even a world traveller, but it is very unlikely that you will have another chance to be an undergraduate student in a foreign country so make the best of it! Oh, and if you want to learn the language... date the locals : )
-- Psychology major Dan Lewis (BK '03) studied with Butler University COPA at Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso, Chile during the 2001-2002 academic year |
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