Mia’s Packing Tips for Down Under

It felt like I was at home awaiting my trip abroad forever, but now, i’m finally here.  Although most of the Global Ambassadors are well into their international adventures, my choice of country, Australia, means I’ve just begun.  In Australia the seasons are opposite, since it is in the southern hemisphere (ie UNSW has been on summer vacation and their fall semester starts Feb 27). This switch of seasons poses great prospects for weather but also quite a conundrum for packing. As mentioned in my intro post I have been lucky enough to travel a lot, however that doesn’t by any stretch mean that I am a skilled packer.

Whenever my family travels together things begin to fall apart as we approach the luggage counter, otherwise known as the scale of fear. If you aren’t careful your bags may tip the scale over the airline imposed 50lb limit. This error causes overage charges and a headache induced by frantically switching clothes from one bag to the next in an attempt to even weights out. If you keep one thing in mind while packing for your semester abroad it should be “Less is more.” In all likelihood the country you are going to has extra pants, socks and shampoo, let’s hope… Continue reading

Brazil: My First Time in South America was INCREDIBLE.

Well my first time in South America was INCREDIBLE. I’m sure I will say this after every port, but I would love to go back at some point! Where to start…

We docked in Manaus, a huge city in Brazil. I didn’t get to explore around the city too much, but it was your typical huge city: lots of people, lots of crowds, lots of narrow pathways, and very dirty…not the biggest fan of big cities. The first day we spent exploring around the city, setting up camp on the riverboat, eating amazing Brazilian food, seeing the meeting of the rivers, and learning a lot about Brazil. Continue reading

Long Distance Relationship Guide

You may remember our post: To Be or Not To Be (Together): Long Distance Relationships well, in honor of Valentines Day, one of our Global Ambassadors decided to write a guide on long distance relationships:

One of the hardest things about living so far away from home is living 15,000km from the man I love. It’s common to have a tough time with long distance relationships, especially when you’re used to seeing each other everyday. Long distance relationships are not for the faint of heart, and require a great deal of work and very sound coping mechanisms. In fact, according to the Center for the Study of Long Distance Relationships, 60% of relationships fail when one partner goes on exchange! You may think your love is strong, but can it stand the test of a long distance relationship? Continue reading

A True Italian Home-Stay: Food, Food, and More Food

For this semester, I am staying in a homestay with an Italian family in the town bordering Sorrento.  I am living in an apartment building, located on a street directly off the main road leading to the piazzas.  The area I live in is relatively quiet, except for the sound of speeding motorinos and smart cars on the street below.  The view from my balcony is absolutely stunning; to the left I see the snow-topped Vesuvius and straight ahead are the rolling Sorrentine hills that include the towns of Vico Equense and Piano di Sorrento.  Continue reading

Alex in Singapore: A Chance to Explore a Love of Asia

I chose to study abroad because I wanted adventure. Living in Montreal, with my parents, my entire life made me realize I needed my independence. What better way to experience independence than to study abroad? And with a generous scholarship from my school that covered my tuition and most of my living expenses, there was nothing stopping me. Continue reading

Michelle in Florence: First Impression

I’ve wanted to study abroad since I found out that such programs existed when I was in high school. I was always asking my parents if I could do programs like learning about turtles in Costa Rica or building orphanages in Nicaragua. I have never been out of the country, and my parents refused for me to go for my first time alone in remote villages at what they felt was too young of an age. I then set my heart on studying abroad once I was in college. I had always planned on studying in Spain, because I felt that anywhere in Europe would be an ideal location for travel since I had never been out of the country, and I can speak Spanish. Continue reading

Cait in Sorrento: Sant’Anna Institute

This spring semester I am studying abroad with the Sant’Anna Institute/Sorrento Lingue located in Sorrento, Italy.  This is a small, but growing, international study abroad program with a school that overlooks the Bay of Naples.

My program consists of four classes including Business in the EU and Italian Literature, but also includes a 3 credit internship with the marketing department of a local Limoncello company.  The opportunity to work abroad in addition to studying abroad seemed like an obvious choice.  Also, since I come from a small town in Rhode Island, I wasn’t looking to jump straight into a large, fast-paced city, but preferred a slower-paced, culturally rich environment. What I liked even more about this program was the fact that it is non-traditional in the sense that it is not located in one of the mainstream study abroad cities.  For this reason, the area is less filled with Americans and I am able to practice my Italian daily with the locals, as well as my host family.  Continue reading

Semester at Sea Port 1: The Beautiful Dominica!

I am on a program called Semester at Sea, it is run through the University of Virginia. This program has been in place since 1963 and has had over 100 voyages, my voyage is the 108th!

I chose this program because I get to live on a boat and travel around the world, what could be better than that? I would love to spend a semester in one location and really get to know the culture and way of life, but that will have to wait! I chose this program because I wanted to see the world, I wanted to go to all of these unique countries that I will probably never have the chance to go back to. Continue reading

*Scholarship Alert* Learn More About Connect-123!

If you’re planning on studying abroad this year, we want you to be aware of some of the great scholarship opportunities that are out there! We recently connected with Brian Carlsen, of Connect-123, which is an organization started in Cape Town, and offers internship, volunteer, and study abroad options in 5 different international locations (Buenos Aires, Shanghai, Cape Town, Barcelona, and Dublin).  Brian was excited to inform us about  three incredible scholarship opportunities on their website, and we wanted to share them with you!  Continue reading