“We all know what kind of education we don’t want, but what kind of education do we want?” Yuqing, the initiator of Temporary Park and a queer Chinese sculptor, opened with this question I was too afraid to ask. Yuqing, along with their fellow artist Yufan, visited Wesleyan on Sunday, April 30th, to hold a…
Student Story
Testing a Happiness Hypothesis
Coming out of Covid-19, studying abroad seemed like a no-brainer to me; the opportunity to interact with as many new people as possible in a novel environment seemed like the perfect way to distance myself from the struggles of recent years. In many ways, I assumed it would be a sort of vacation (as I…
A Different Kind of City
As someone who makes being from New York her personality, I was extremely excited to take on a city environment for my study abroad program. While I had convinced myself that the adjustment in London would run smoothly, I was defeated my first night when I ate dinner at McDonald’s because nothing in the grocery…
FLTA Series: Introducing Amira Ounis
Hello! I am Amira Ounis from Constantine, Algeria. Constantine is one of the ancient cities in the world. It is known with its seven hanged bridges that date back to ancient epochs. I graduated from a Teachers’ College in 2017. Since then, I occupied a position of a primary teacher of English in high school.…
A summer playing in the dirt: A day in the life as an excavation volunteer at Tel Shimron, Israel
Life at the field school I lived at for the summer began to stir well before the daylight hours in the Jezreel Valley. Each morning, I rolled out of bed at 4am, donned my mud-stained clothes, and stumbled down the stairs in a sleepy stupor for first breakfast, which consisted of a sad cup of…
A Place as Old as Time Itself
Nick Bowman, Class of 2023, spent Fall 2021 in Scotland, Spring 2022 in the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Summer 2022 in Jerusalem studying abroad. The dulcet tones of our pilot’s southern drawl announcing our approach to the Charlotte airport after a semester abroad in the Turks and Caicos Islands seems a distant memory as…
Fulbright Spotlight: Interview with David Vizgan (’21), Astronomy Researcher in Denmark
Exploring Denmark… and the Earliest Origins of the UniverseBlog post prepared by Shiven Sankalia (’24), Fellowships Assistant, Spring 2022, with additions and edits by Dr. Erica Kowsz, Assistant Director for Fellowships at the Fries Center for Global Studies David Vizgan is a Wesleyan alum currently on a Fulbright Scholarship in Denmark. David graduated in 2021…
The Life Aquatic: A few thoughts from an isolated field school on the island of South Caicos
Some reflections from above and below the waves on what has been an amazing, but equally challenging semester abroad in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Nick Bowman, Class of 2023 Archaeology and Classical Civilizations Major My days at The School for Field Studies (SFS) Center for Marine Resource Studies in the Turks and Caicos…
Studying Abroad While Abroad
Naraa Altai, 2022, Computer Science, she/her/hers Having spent 3 years away from home, Naraa felt more than ready to take on the challenge of moving to Copenhagen. Or so she thought… Once again, I was packing my entire life in two suitcases – one small and one big. The first time was two weeks before…
Money and Relationships: Studying Abroad as FGLI
Diana Venus, 2024, Anthropology, Psychology, she/her Diana is a sophomore studying abroad in Italy. In this blog, she talks about navigating life abroad and its difficulties as a low-income student. This is an honest review of her one-month experience in Bologna with its discoveries, frustrations, and life lessons. Part 1. Navigating real life Here’s a…