Awesome Amsterdam Adventure

4 out of 5
IES Abroad: Amsterdam – IES Abroad in Amsterdam
Lauren M (Environmental Studies, Macalester College)

Awesome Amsterdam Adventure!

Netherlands-Amsterdam-IES

4 stars

 

 

 

4 out of 5

IES Abroad: Amsterdam – IES Abroad in Amsterdam
Lauren M (Environmental Studies, Macalester College)

I learned a lot about myself as this was my first time living on my own. Also learned how to bike a whole lot better which is definitely a skill to hold on to. Became a better traveler, came out of my shell, and overall just a great personal growth and cultural experience. Read my full review at: https://www.studyabroad101.com/programs/ies-abroad-amsterdam-ies-abroad-in-amsterdam/reviews/32014

 

What is it to Study abroad in snowy Russia?

“Study abroad”, this phrase contains a lot of stories, means, and riddles. Every day, people choose where to show their abilities and skills. Many foreign students prefer Ural Federal University in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Yekaterinburg is located on the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains. You can make only a single step between the different parts of the world, because this city is a natural boundary between Europe and Asia.

groupUral Federal University gives the opportunity to study different discipline in English. Department of marketing communications and branding invites you to be trained in two programs in English: Bachelor of Advertising and PR and Master Advertising and PR. If you have wish to enroll on these programs, you will get a chance of getting full or partial scholarships.

What attracts students in the Urals? Fabrice Fosso from Cameroon came to Russia to study Advertising and PR Master Program. He believes that the standard of living in Russia is, no less than in Europe, but much cheaper. Another advantage, which he has mentioned, is the opportunity to get a scholarship for study. It`s time to find out: “What is it to Study abroad in snowy Russia.” Many students have developed their principles and rules of behavior in Russia.

studentsPeople have a lot of stereotypes about Russia, but Rastha, a student from China, has denied all stereotypes, he said: “Bears, balalaika, vodka, where is it? I only saw the birch and matrioshka.” Arriving in Russia, you can dramatically change your opinion about everything. Yes, Russia is a very harsh country, but even here you can find happiness, as Anindita Mukherjee from India did, “Traditions in Russia are very different. For example, Happy ticket – happiness can be found even in the public transports.” But what is the secret of Russia? Dr. Rahman Matiur told us about it, he said: “Open your heart, and Russia will be opened by you.”

3 studentsTo communicate with people is very important, so Dr. Saugata Santra advises “Don’t be shy. Russian people are very sociable.” Everyday Eder Cordero from Mexico meets with the Russians, and that`s what he says about them – “Russian spirit, Russian soul, Russian temperament is a powerful rod. If you meet them once, then remember it for a long time.” The study of the Russian language is included in all Master programs. It’s pleased to learn Russian with Russian girls, Abid Abidullah noted – “Russian girls are very beautiful and modest. I lose the power of speech seeing their smiles.”

Many young people are afraid to leave their homes, but if you listen to Adadi Parise from Pakistan then we can understand how people are mistaken, he says that if you come to Russia, you will not regret. “Dear Students, Russia is huge. It’s time to open it to the world”- Guillanme Ore from Cote D’ivoire.

snowy day“All in all. People need to be active, ambitious, courageous, sociable, friendly, creative, tolerant if they go abroad.” Fabrice Fosso advices, these qualities would be useful for you, if you decided to link your lives with Advertising. If you want to be successful, communicative, creative, then welcome to UrFU! After studying at Ural Federal University, you will know how to build a successful business with Russia. You’ll find useful contacts. You’ll find close friends.

Elvina K

Elvina Kurbanova is a student at Ural Federal University in Central Russia who shows that study abroad is not just an American phenomena.  Her study abroad story is summarized in this study abroad review. 

My Summer in Lima, Peru was one I will never forget!

 

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5 out of 5
ISA Study Abroad in Lima, Peru
A student (Biomedical Engineering, Michigan Technological University)

I would definitely recommend this program. I had an incredible experience combining Study Abroad with Service Learning in El Hospital del Nino while staying with a Peruvian host family. My language skills improved immensely, I gained an appreciation for the Peruvian culture, and met wonderful people from around the world.

Study here: https://www.studyabroad101.com/programs/isa-study-abroad-in-lima-peru

 

A Truly Unforgettable Experience

5 stars5 out of 5
IFSA-Butler: Sydney – Macquarie University
Alyson A (Environmental Sustainability, Philadelphia University)

I could go on for days about all the things I learned and gained from being abroad, but I’ll try to keep it short. I learned a lot about myself as a person, what I like and dislike, as well as where I want to go in life. I became more independent, spontaneous, and laid back. I learned to plan ahead, multi-task, and accept that things don’t always go as planned. Studying abroad was the greatest decision I have ever made, and it will definitely be your greatest decision too!

https://www.studyabroad101.com/programs/ifsa-butler-sydney-university-of-sydney

 

Best Experience in Dublin

Ireland-dublin-ISA-3c61

5 out of 5
ISA Study Abroad in Dublin, Ireland
A student (Geology/Earth Science, General, University of Utah)

I gained a lot of experiences from my time abroad. It was the first time I was away from home and it felt amazing! Everyone in Ireland is supper friendly and I took that attitude home when I came back to the states.

https://www.studyabroad101.com/programs/isa-study-abroad-in-dublin-ireland

But How Did Study Abroad Help Me In My Career?

Puzzled Confused Lost Signpost Showing Puzzling Problem

Static

When I arrived in Barajas Airport in Madrid, I was greeted by Cristina Blanco, the (fabulous) director of the program. My mouth felt sticky, I was terribly jet-lagged, and still left-over anxious over having had my visa inspected. When I saw Cristina holding the sign that said CIEE (just like the literature said she would be), and wearing a big smile, I was relieved. At least, I was relieved until she said “sshhhrrrrshhsshhrrr.”

This was what castellano sounded like to me.

I smiled emptily at her. “¿Cómo?” I asked.  “What?”

“Sshhhrrrrsshrr,” she repeated kindly, pointing over to a growing group of young people about my age.

Over there. She wanted me to go over there and join the rest of the group. I nodded and moved in the direction she indicated, but I had understood nothing. I was terrified.

It all felt so unfair. I had studied Spanish in school for eight years. I knew words! I knew a lot of words! I listened to Juanes all the time! I liked Pedro Almodóvar films! And instead of feeling confident, the entire world turned into static.

At first I cried a lot. I was exhausted after having a five minute conversation with my host family. I fell asleep watching my English language DVDs every night. But after two weeks or so the static began to clear out. The shhhhrrrrshhhhhh sounds distilled into words that I recognized and could soon use. Two months in, I was able to joke with my host family, and on the airplane home I was able to discuss Spanish politics in Spanish.

editors note: You can read the full program review on Abroad101!

But how did this help me in my career?

I teach American Literature and ESL (English as a Second Language) in a high school in Queens, New York. Approximately 70% of my students are former English Language Learners, and of these 55% speak Spanish at home. Speaking Spanish is obviously useful. Anywhere you work in the world, speaking Spanish can only be an asset. But you probably already knew that.

Those two weeks I spent lost in static taught me more about second language acquisition than I could learn from a textbook. The strategies I used are strategies that I encourage my students to use.

  • Sit in the front of the classroom and minimize distractions.
  • Read for the gist of paragraphs rather than trying to understand every word on the page.
  • Use context clues when you can and a dictionary when you can’t.
  • Use physical and facial cues to help construct meaning.
  • Ask people to slow down or say it again.
  • Ask for help and ask questions.
  • Speak your native language when you need to. It’s totally fine.

I strongly believe that I have a better understanding of how to teach literature to ELLs and former ELLs because of my experience abroad. Teachers of ELLs are encouraged to discuss strategies for learning, as well as concepts to be learned. I had to learn these strategies for myself, so when I present these ideas, I am speaking as someone with experience, not someone who only read about these strategies in Chapter 2. Because we have all braved the static, we know we can trust each other to get to the point where the words come freely.

 

– Elizabeth Tanzer-Ritter
For StudyAbroad101.com

 

Elizabeth Tanzer-RitterElizabeth Tanzer-Ritter

I am in my eighth year of teaching English and ESL in the highly diverse New York City Public Schools. I graduated from Brandeis University in 2007 with a major in English Language and Literature and a double minor in Secondary Education and Spanish Language and Literature. I studied abroad during my junior year of college. I studied in Alcalá de Henares, Spain in 2006 (and it was awesome). I earned a graduate degree from Queens College in English Education in 2011 and a certificate in TESOL from St. John’s University in 2013. I love what I do and I am so grateful to be able to apply my experiences abroad to my experience in the workplace.

Study Abroad Advantage member Allie Bunch interview

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To draw attention to The Study Abroad Advantage professional networking group on Linkedin, we prompted our members to nominate a student with the most professional study abroad review. Our winner, Allie Bunch, talks more about her time away from Clark University and what it was like to study at one of the most elite universities in the world, The London School of Economics. Allie will soon be completing her degree at Clark and is ready to be hired! Read this interview and learn about her growth and maturity through study abroad. 

Join the Study Abroad Advantage on LinkedIn

 

1) Tell us a little about your background, did your parents attend college?  Do you have siblings in college?

Both of my parents attended college – my father graduated with a BSc in Education and my mother with an AA in Apparel Design. They have always encouraged and supported me in my pursuit for higher learning, and as their oldest child they are experiencing all of the firsts along with me. This year, my younger sister started at Endicott College, also in Massachusetts, so we are definitely a family driven to be educated.

 

2) We assume that you studied abroad as a Junior, is that correct?

Yes, I was abroad during my Junior year.

 

3) You took the path of a full year abroad, and you chose one of the top ranked universities in the world. Two pretty bold steps.  Most people don’t know much about Clark, but they do about LSE, tell us more about why you chose this path and what you expected?

I grew up in Seattle, Washington, so when it was time to pick a college, I seized the opportunity to make a big change. I moved to Worcester, Massachusetts to go to Clark University in no small part due to the university’s strong study abroad program. During my Sophomore year, I had the opportunity to work in the Office of Study Abroad/Away and learned about the LSE program during my first week on the job. I remember leaving work that day and calling my parents to inform them that I would be spending my Junior year in London. I was in my second year at Clark I was ready to make another big change, and this program was exactly what I was looking for. I felt that a one-semester program wouldn’t satisfy me: I’d just be getting settled in by the time I had to turn around and come back. Education opens up a lot of doors, but what many people – especially young adults my age – don’t realize is the opportunity that education can give you to explore. I’d already gotten a taste of that when I moved from the West Coast to the East Coast, and I was lucky enough to recognize that opportunity for a second time. As an adult in a professional setting, there are not many chances to travel and engage with other cultures for extended periods of time, but being a student provides almost a built-in excuse to really discover what’s out there.

 

4) From your review, you seemed to have a pretty remarkable experience, in the review we asked if it was worthwhile, did it also meet your expectations?   

I think one of my strengths that has been long in development is the ability to go into things with a very open mind and very few expectations. I went to London expecting only new experiences and challenges, both of which I got in abundance. I experienced living in the heart of a big city, interacting with many different cultures on a daily basis, and being in a location from which I had access to other countries almost as easily as one can access neighboring states in the US. The first trip that I took outside of the UK was to Spain for just three days, and the ability to hop from country to country was unique and endlessly exciting. I am also thankful that I was prepared for challenges, because studying at the LSE is undeniably one of the hardest things I have ever done. I was not only adapting to a new education system, but that education system was also the most rigorous I have ever faced. This was important to me, though. Obviously spending a year at a less-challenging institution sounded appealing, but I wanted my experience to contribute to my future through both experiences as well as education, and I think that my time at the LSE will do this throughout my lifetime.

 

5) You refer to the GC – the General Course, which sounded like it was filled with foreign students, what percentage were Americans?  Are they what you expected?  How did you get along with the non-American, non-British students?

It’s funny that you ask this, because as I look back, most of the friends that I remain in touch with were other American students. I think that this is partially due to the house I chose to live in, Northumberland House, which housed more students from the US than some of the others. I didn’t mind this so much though because I was able to interact and engage with students from other areas through my classes and my involvement in the LSE Dance Society. I found that in some cases, the students who went abroad to the LSE with friends from home tended to keep mostly to themselves, but for the most part everyone was friendly and willing to branch out very quickly.

 

6) Tell us a bit about the differences of the campuses and how you think that will affect the outlook of where you look for work.

Worcester is as different from London as night from day. Clark is located in an area of Massachusetts that has certainly seen better days – Worcester was a booming city in the past, but has since fallen off since the decline of its manufacturing industry. Though there are many colleges and universities in the city, there is very little else when held up next to London. I lived in Northumberland House, which is between Trafalgar Square and the Thames; literally in the center of London. Every morning I walked to school on the Strand with businessmen and women and every evening I made my way back through crowds waiting outside of theaters for the next big musical. I’m no stranger to big cities after growing up in Seattle, but London is a different breed and will absolutely affect where I decide to settle for work. I loved and thrived in the business and bustle of the city and ideally would seek out a job in or close to a similar city, with lots of opportunities to travel and experience more of these around the world.

 

7) You mentioned tying into the LSE Alumni network, how do you plan to do so, how has it gone so far?  Do you have any tips for future students?

Unfortunately, the bulk of the LSE Alumni network caters more to students in the UK and greater Europe. However, there is an organization here in the States called Alumni and Friends of the LSE (AFLSE) that alumni can join for a membership fee. I haven’t pursued this avenue yet, but might consider it in the future. For now, I’m happy working on my own as sort of an ambassador for the program, especially among my peers and younger students looking for a challenging and rewarding study abroad destination.

 

8) You’ve joined The Study Abroad Advantage group on Linkedin and sound like you plan to use your experience at LSE to separate yourself from other job seekers, how do plan to do that?  What are your talking points?  How are you translating your comments about growth and maturity into door openers for work?  What else can you offer in the way of suggestions to students about to study abroad?

I think that my time at the LSE sets me apart from my peers because my experience is unique and shows my ability to adapt and face challenges head-on. I think that the most important thing for me is that I really proved to myself what my capabilities and strengths are. Of course having the title ‘London School of Economics and Political Science’ on a resume will look good on its own, but I would stress to a potential employer that it’s really what I was able to take from my studies and from my time abroad as a whole that will distinguish me from other job seekers. To students planning to study abroad, I would say avoid entering into the program with expectations of how you think it will be. Prepare, of course, for the rigors of the program and for immersion in a different culture, but be ready to adapt and be excited to be surprised. Regardless of the program, it will be an incredibly rewarding experience.

 

9) If you’ve not landed a job yet, here’s your chance to show-off – why should someone hire Allie Bunch?

I learned a lot during my year at the LSE, and not just about political science. I learned so much about myself that I am excited to apply to whatever job I find myself in: I’m wildly ambitious and have a much more adaptable mind than I ever realized. I surprised myself, really, by how well I did in the program, and I think that’s because I am driven to go above and beyond everyone’s expectations of me – including my own. I am self-sufficient and determined. I am highly responsible, a practiced communicator, and a fast learner. I showed myself that it is when I am faced with new challenges or when I find myself under pressure that I thrive. It is these skills, and others, which I will bring with enthusiasm and passion to any job.