Amherst College Global Education Blog
Hi! My name is Amanda and I am a biochemistry and biophysics major from New York City. I am spending my spring semester at the University of Sydney, where I will take classes in biology and physics. I will be living at the women’s residential college of the university. I have never been to Australia before and I am
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Hello! My name is Stuart Robbins and I am an American Studies major at Amherst. This semester, I will be seeking to develop a more nuanced and global perspective through my studies at Syracuse University in Madrid, Spain. I am most excited to increase my Spanish language skills and immerse myself in Spanish culture. During the semester I will
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Hi everyone! I’ve been back home in the US for about two weeks now. I will admit that I did have a bit of reverse culture shock when I first came back. Instead of cobblestone streets and my yellow bike, I was back to driving my van in the suburbs. Instead of my favorite Danish coffee shop and pastries, I
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I did not prepare myself for my return home especially the emotions I am experiencing now. I had to say goodbye to my life of travels, to the friends I made, to the city I had come to appreciate and love. I sit at home now watching Netflix or occasionally going out to see my friends and family. When I
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Now that my time is ending in Spain, I thought I would share some of my thoughts about my various identities and traveling abroad in Spain and other countries in Europe. I will discuss my black, American, and New York City identities in hope to show how each one shifts my power and privilege in different contexts. Let’s start with
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Seeing the Stars Imagine you go outside after you’ve left your well-lit house. You look up and all you see is a black sky. However, your eyes start to adjust to the lack of surrounding light and your vision starts to change. Slowly, you observe these specks of light that become brighter as you stay outside. And finally, after a
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I said it in my first post, but this city really becomes something else at night. This might be my own biases coming out though. Some of my favorite memories from Shanghai will be associated with its nighttime, and the people I met while exploring the streets. That’s one of the most important parts of my experience, now that
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When many students go abroad I think there are a few things that they would typically be nervous about. They might ask things like, how will I adapt in a new culture and environment? Will I like my classes? Will there be a language barrier? Will I make friends? For me, however, and I bet a for a few other
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Let’s talk a bit more about this authenticity thing. This is something I touched on in my last blog post, but the questions authenticity creates have surrounded me daily while studying abroad in China. Take, for example, my most recent trip to Yunnan province. It’s pretty far from Shanghai, bordering a number of Southeast Asian countries and home to a
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“No way, I can’t go to the store by myself! My Spanish is not that good…no one will understand me! Please come with me!” I blurted this out to my friend Zaq in my hotel room before heading out to get some more toothpaste. He gave me a rosy smile and said “No, I know you can do it.” I
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