It’s time for a check-in from a SPA student studying abroad. Get ready for advice and adventures from SPA! Today’s post is written by junior Thom Josephson who is studying in Paris at SciencesPo.
Abroad divides returners into two groups: Those who found the experience lacking and those who find the return to be so. I am of the former. I’m not going to gush forth praise and excitement. I won’t lie either.
Abroad, if you choose to go, will be hard. Being in another culture is not easy. Making friends is not easy. Adjusting is just plain hard.
But you might love it.
I found myself in a group of wonderful people, assembled from around the world. I found passionate teachers and interesting subjects. I found a city that glows, that positively sparkles, at night.
And I hit a point in my experience where I did not want to leave. I wanted to stay in Paris forever. I wanted to eat whole baguettes, drink cheap wine from the Côtes de Rhône, and glare scorn to tourists. I wanted to be French.
That desire passed for me. It doesn’t for everyone though.
Here is the truth: Go abroad. Or don’t. But don’t go because anyone told you to and don’t stay because anyone said to. Others’ experiences are not your own. Don’t trust them. Don’t trust me.
You may relish the culture, the different perspectives, the food and whatever else. Or you may find the academic difficulty lacking, the people dull, and the culture fake.
Whatever you decide to do, remember that the important thing is not where you go, but why.
I can tell you this: If you go, you will learn something. It just might not be what you thought it would; and that might not be such a bad thing.
Read my blog if you like, or don’t. I’m a blog post, not a cop.
See you all in the Spring.
Category: General News
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Tell Us If You're Studying Abroad
So you think you can learn something outside of AMERICA?! You’re probably right. Most definitely, probably right. Just make sure to let us know where you’ll be studying.
The Study Abroad Form is online, quick and easy. Do it now!
Hot Chocolate and Coffee for Honors Students!
UHPers can get free hot chocolate and coffee in the UHP townhouse in Foggy Bottom.
We love to see your ugly mugs in the townhouse, and by that we mean that we literally want to see you bring your own mugs to fill with delicious free beverage. Cups kill the earth. Don’t kill the earth.
It’s cold out and coffee/hot chocolate is amazing. Come by, say hi, and warm up!
We Want Your Voice [Submit to the UHP Blog]
Did you know that you can submit a post directly to the UHP blog?
Well, now you do. So, no more excuses. Write your stuff, submit it. Have it read by some of the most awesome students at the university. And also maybe their parents. (HI, MOM AND DAD!)
We’ll approve it and schedule it, of course–this ain’t a free-for-all. Share news relevant to (or for!) Honor students.
We want your voice!
Sustainability Minor Advise-a-Palooza
With Spring 2014 registration around the corner, are you thinking about your academic path?
Curious about GW’s first interdisciplinary undergraduate minor? Check out this FREE informational lunch!
Sustainability Minor Advise-a-Palooza
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
11:00 AM – 1:00 PMDuques Hall Room 451
2201 G St. NW,
Washington, DC 20052.
Lunch will be served.
RSVP Here!
Meet with faculty, advisers and students! Learn about new Green Leaf courses, and hear about opportunities for cool culminating experiences:
- Internships Search with GW Career Center
- Service Learning with Center for Civic Engagement & Public Service
- Entrepreneurship with GW Biz Plan Competition & GW UpStart
- Directed Research with Center for Undergraduate Fellowships and Research
- Field Studies with Office of Study Abroad
Receive on-the-spot advising, and declare the Sustainability Minor!
Tell your friends!! See you there!!
[Insert Here]: Improv Comedy (and sometimes pineapples) [Student Org Profile]
Welcome to a new column where UHPers can shine the spotlight on orgs they’re involved in at GW right here on the UHP blog! Want to get the word out about your org and tell the rest of the UHP why it’s awesome? Want to encourage others to get involved in your org? Email uhpspa@gwu.edu about writing a post!
Hello lovely UHP members! My name is Kayleigh Ryherd, and I am here to write to you about my improv group – [insert here]. Yes, that is actually our name. Yes, it does have a tendency to confuse people who work in offices. We are one of two fabulous improv comedy groups at GW (the other being receSs, which is equally fabulous and features UHP senior and staffer Eleanor Klibanoff). For those who haven’t seen a lot of improv, it involves a group of people creating scenes on a stage from a suggestion provided by the audience. (Think Whose Line is it Anyway?)
In [insert here], we focus on both longform and shortform improv. Longform can be described as an improvised play. The performers get a suggestion from the audience and then create characters, locations, and situations on the spot. They then follow those characters through a story arc. Shortform is more like what they do on Whose Line – short, game-like improvised scenes with a predetermined premise or twist. (If you haven’t yet, check out Sideways Scene – it’s new with the return of Whose Line and it is hilarious!)
I have been with [insert here] since its start in the Spring of 2011. We had our first show in the now-nonexistent Mitchell Theater (accompanied by the delicious scent of 7-Eleven). Since then all of us have been working hard to establish a presence on campus and commit ourselves to producing high-quality comedy. However, I find the most important aspect of improv to be how much fun it is! Twice a week I get to get together with some of my favorite people and watch them be absolutely hilarious or play a character I didn’t even know I could. I started improv in high school, and I love that I am able to continue doing something so fun all through college. 
If any of this sounds interesting to you, we encourage you to come to one of our shows and maybe even audition next fall! Most of the comedy stars you know actually got their start in improv: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Will Ferrell, Seth Meyers, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Chris Farley – and that’s just some of them.
Tonight also happens to be a magical night for improv. Our first show of the year happens tonight (October 25) in the Marvin Amphitheater at 8pm, and afterwards receSs is having their newbie show at 10pm in the Continental Ballroom. Both shows cost $3, and they are sure to have you laughing all night long!
Never Miss a Thing – Subscribe To Our Calendar
Not sure about those Honors deadlines or upcoming events? Put it on autopilot by subscribing to our calendars.
If you’re logged in to your GWmail right now, all you need to do is….
click here to subscribe.
You’ll be glad you did.
Hot Chocolate for Honors Students
If you’re ready for drinks to start getting warmer as the weather starts getting cooler, then grab a mug and head to the UHP townhouse in Foggy Bottom!
If we’re open, you can grab some free coffee, hot chocolate, or tea! Come on by (but please bring your own mug)!
Embassy Trick-or-Treating! [SPA Grassroots Event]
There’s a chill in the air, and you know what that means… Halloween. Can you think of a better way to spend it than trick or treating at the embassies with all your honors friends? We thought not.
On Thursday, October 31st (umm, Halloween), your SPA Laura and Michelle will lead a trip to Embassy Row to get as much multicultural candy as possible. They’ll be meeting outside of Funger Hall at 12:30pm, trick-or-treating for a couple of hours, and then walking back. Come dressed as something other than yourself and bring a vessel for transporting goodies. (Start composing your #onlyatGW tweets and Instagram captions now.)
RSVP to the Facebook event here!
