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Month: August 2016

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By abbymarco

Like many people, I have found myself more focused on the “abroad” part of “study abroad” and less concerned with the study aspect. Of course, this seems only natural; who wants to spend all day, every day stuck inside doing work when they could be exploring a new place and culture?!

Lucky for me, I’ve found my study abroad program to be extremely understanding of students’ wishes to explore our host country, often times going easy on homework and weekend assignments. I have without a doubt found my abroad curriculum to be much easier than my coursework at GW, and I am perfectly content with that. I am still learning SO much, both in the classroom and out of it, while still having enough time to explore Morocco and beyond.

...continue reading ""Study" Abroad"

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By abbymarco

Like many other people I'm sure, having the opportunity to eat new foods (and a lot of them) was one of the things I was most excited about when I began my study abroad experience. Moroccan food has certainly not let me down, as food and meal times are a huge part of the culture here. With so many exciting, new, and sometimes weird flavors, it's hard to choose just one favorite food... So here's my top five!

1. Couscous: I couldn't make it through this list without listing this Moroccan staple! Every Friday for lunch, Moroccans enjoy steamed couscous piled high with stewed meat and tons vegetables. The Moroccan spices and perfectly-cooked veggies that melt in your mouts are completely irresistible, and they're the reason I rush home after my Arabic classes on Fridays. Couscous is the traditional Moroccan meal that is only eaten on Fridays, the holiest day in Islam. And the best part is that it's eaten with your hands!!

...continue reading "New Food: The Best Part About Studying Abroad"

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By janellekranz

To the Cafés of Argentina:

I wouldn’t even think of buying coffee just a few years ago, no matter where I was in the world. About two years ago, slowly but surely, I became addicted to coffee – but I don’t mean physically addicted; I am addicted to the world of coffee. I like knowing where coffee beans come from, learning the nuances among different preparations, and looking for the variety of tastes and smells in each cup. My favorite part of the coffee experience, however, is taking time to enjoy it.

...continue reading "To the Cafés of Argentina:"

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By bienvenidosasantiago

A couple weeks before I left for Chile I went out to brunch with a friend from high school that was studying abroad in Prague for the semester. Her semester started much earlier than mine, so she was Europe-bound in a few days and I was going to be left to wait around a month before I was able to fly out. Almost immediately she was posting piles and piles of photos of the food in Prague, her trips to Paris and London and Poland and I was gripped with excited for similar life-changing events.

...continue reading "The Cliche"

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By abbymarco

There’s something about completely immersing yourself in a new culture that really makes you take a step back and look at yourself- your life at home, your actions, your belief system- in an entirely new light. Living in a society so different than your own makes you acutely aware of how you appear to the rest of the world, intentionally or not.

Now that I’ve spent two months in Morocco, I feel as if I have learned more about myself and my own culture than I would have expected; I thought I was coming here to learn about a new culture (I’m doing that too, don’t worry), not my own!

...continue reading "Perception of Americans in Morocco"

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By bienvenidosasantiago

Senior year of high school marks the first wave of adult responsibility and immense pressure to make future decisions for most students. Of course the time leading up to picking a university and graduating is filled with its own vicissitudes of stress, but ultimately deciding which university is the best option and fit for you is the first decision you make that holds a great weight for your future self. Here in Chile, they approach this time with great caution; with great awareness of priorities and maturity at that age.

...continue reading "How to live at home until you’re 30 without guilt (Lessons from Chile)"

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By bienvenidosasantiago

If you are the slightest bit interested in going to Santiago Chile for a semester, be prepared to take the Micro (a Chilenismo for public bus). My program is made up of eight vastly different travel-savvy people, ranging from a girl from San Francisco obsessed with buses to a girl who lives only 2 minutes from campus because otherwise she may not be able to navigate her way there. Contrary to DC or GW, public transportation is a must in Santiago. Especially because through the GW Chile program, you have access to two different universities with campuses spread out throughout the city. Little to my surprise, the Micro and Metro have probably cost me the most out of all of my expenditures abroad. That's not to imply that they're expensive, rather that you use them with such frequency.

...continue reading "How to: Micro"

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By janellekranz

Dear Traveler,

Prepare yourself. You are going to be asked, “Do you feel homesick?” about a million times while you’re gone. It can be a tricky question to answer, especially in your first week abroad. You’re meeting new people, trying new foods, living a different lifestyle – but by no means do you forget where you came from.

I try to avoid the “homesickness discussion” because it involves telling people – who many times don’t care – about my feelings. Sometimes I feel ashamed of being homesick because I realize that nurturing the homesickness means missing out on fun activities in a new country. Other times I use it as fuel to do something fun, and that reminds me of the endless possibilities that come with a new place to live.

...continue reading "Dear Traveler"

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By bienvenidosasantiago

My introduction as an American prompts a number of responses. The first being, that 'Um yes? So are we in South America.' In the States, I think we live in a vacuum without being aware that even how we identify ourselves could be problematic in another country. It's no question that American influence is pervasive across the globe through the media, the news and pop culture; our reputation usually preceding our arrival for study abroad students. Sometimes for the worst, mostly in cases where there's only one portrayal of an American or few Americans living in said country.

...continue reading "Americans Abroad"

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By bienvenidosasantiago

A week before I left for Chile I returned to DC to pick up my student visa and say goodbye to everyone mid-semester. The majority of my friends had studied abroad in Korea either the past semester or the semester before that and were in different stages of re-assimilation to school in the States. They had warned me that the night before I flew out would be the worst night of the entire process, I would question myself, why I was doing this, and do anything to find my comfort-zone again. pre-departure nerves. Three people told me that I could call them at any point in the night if I needed someone to talk to.

...continue reading "Be Prepared"

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