Category: Europe

Introducing Joslyn Hays

Published on by DU AbroadLeave a comment

What is/are your major(s)?

Environmental Science

What is/are your minor(s)?

History and International Studies

What is the name of your study abroad program?

Lund University Exchange 

In what city & country is your study abroad program located?

Lund, Sweden

What is one thing that you are most anticipating about your study abroad experience?

During my experience, I am most anticipating meeting people with vastly different backgrounds while learning about new cultures. While I am excited to travel around Europe, I am more excited for the adventures that I will have here in Lund with new friends that I meet in class and clubs. I believe that actively learning about a new culture is one of the best ways to engage with your own biases and cultural values in a fun, thought-provoking, and meaningful manner. It is within this sphere of trying new things where I anticipate a lot of personal growth that will make me a better person all around. Essentially, I am looking forward to making new friends (both local and international) while also challenging my beliefs and comfort zone. 

Why did you decide to study abroad? or What inspired you to study abroad?

I have wanted to study abroad for as long as I can remember. Both of my parents and my older sister all studied abroad for a year during their undergrad, and it’s obvious that they all made amazing memories and experienced a lot of growth during that time. I definitely attribute my desire to study abroad to hearing their stories and meeting their best friends from their study abroad experiences. Getting to make life-long friends in another country while you are studying is such a powerful and distinctive experience that I have eagerly anticipated!
On top of following in their footsteps, studying abroad felt like the next logical step for my international experiences. When I was 10, my family lived in Iceland for seven months and I was enrolled in a public school. This experience transformed my perspective on the world and education and I have planned on another chance to study abroad since then. It also got me excited to live in another Nordic country. The summer after my freshman year of high school, I homestayed in Japan for two months. My time there gave me a lot of confidence in terms of my ability to try new things and leaps of faith. After both of these amazing opportunities, I felt that the next step was studying abroad for a year while I pursue my bachelor’s degree. I can use the skills I gained from these past international experiences while developing new memories and undergoing personal growth. 

The photo was from a beach day during my first week in Sweden.

Reverse Homesickness

Published on by raulorozco1Leave a comment
Photo via Traveldigg.com

62 more days left in Berlin and it isn’t anywhere near enough. As I sit here desperately trying to cling to the grains of time that are passing me by, I can’t help but feel a deep sadness for what is to come. After 7 months of living in Berlin, I’ve succeeded in accomplishing my goal—to create my own little life for myself.

Unfortunately, I’ve been so successful at creating my own little life in Berlin that it’s now not so little, and it breaks my heart a bit as I realize that it is quickly coming to an end. The result of my efforts in Berlin has crafted treasured friendships, a beautiful relationship, and fluency at C1 level German. Gone are the days where I feel lost in this city, both literally but also in a more figurative sense. At first, I would lose myself just as quickly in a conversation in German as I would when riding the Bahn without my phone for navigation. Now, I can effortlessly navigate the Bahn systems and almost any interaction in German. But more importantly, I have a sense of home in the community I’ve built.

My speculation is that it is often this lack of community that results in students feeling homesick. I can confidently say that I felt homesick after 6 weeks in Berlin, but fast forward to the present and now I feel a different type of homesickness. I feel homesick for the present. I have this pit in my stomach and this stone weighing on my heart because I know that this beautiful, little life that I have created in Berlin will end. I have utterly fallen in love with this city.

Yet, this experience, while simultaneously beautiful and painful, is one that less than 2% of college students will have the opportunity to seek for themselves. According to NAFSA, only 1.6% of all college students in the U.S. studied abroad for the 2016-17 academic year (I don’t have data for how many students study abroad for a full academic year but I’m sure it’s even less). Of the 1.6% of students who do study abroad, only 10.2% are Hispanic/Latino American which makes my experience abroad particularly rare.

If you can take anything away from this blog, I hope it’s a sense of curiosity. Dare to dream what a semester or two of your college-experience would look like abroad. What kind of little life can you craft for yourself? Will you be heartbroken to leave, or eagerly awaiting the flight back home? You can’t know until you go find out for yourself.

-Raul

https://www.nafsa.org/Policy_and_Advocacy/Policy_Resources/Policy_Trends_and_Data/Trends_in_U_S__Study_Abroad/

Raul Orozco

Germany – Freie Universitat Berlin, 2018-2019 Academic Year

Raul Orozco is a senior at the University of Denver and is majoring in philosophy with minors in biology, German, and political science. He is participating in the Freie Universität Berlin European Studies Program (FU-BEST) in Berlin, Germany for the academic year. Raul hopes studying abroad in Berlin will enable him to gain fluency in the German language. 

Link to Posts