Several of our GRST majors and minors have been living and studying in Germany this fall. I asked them to share some of their experiences with us. So far, I have received three letters that I would like to share with you. The first letter is from Evelyn Mesler ‘21, who majored in German Studies,…
Student Story
Oktoberfest at German Haus
On a warm and sunny Saturday, around 30 students joined the German Haus to celebrate the Oktoberfest, but with unique twists. While the Bavarian festival traditionally calls for Dirndl and Lederhosen, Wesleyan students were clad in their typical eclectic fashion. Laughing and smiling, they learned about German culture and language. Bright-colored blue and white Bavarian themed table…
Murphy’s Law
Travel often doesn’t turn out as you’d perhaps dreamed or even planned. Sometimes Murphy’s Law feels as if it hangs like an albatross around your neck. Whatever could go wrong … will, and often you can do little about it. But that’s what travel really is. Whether it’s an airport dash that ends in heartbreak…
One Thing I Forgot While in Madrid
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (the Jewish New Year and Day of Atonement) are the most important Jewish holidays. Celebrating this year in Madrid looks a little different than usual for Rebecca Dowd. Rebecca is majoring in Science and Society and Hispanic Literatures and Cultures. She is currently studying abroad in Madrid, Spain. I was one of 6 Jews in my high…
So Long, Farewell: A Chat with Recent Graduate Tianxin Chen ’21
From Beijing, China, Tianxin Chen ’21 double majored in College of Letters and Religion. He described “critical analysis”, what he has learned through his undergraduate study at Wes, as a challenge for inclusiveness, emphasizing understanding, emotions, feelings and communication, and embracing differences. He adheres to the beliefs of maintaining creativity, vitality, and imagination in the…
Interviews Regarding the Re-entry Process after Study Abroad: Overall Findings and Future Considerations
Written by Rebecca Downer, Class of 2021, Earth and Environmental Sciences, she/her/hers pronouns When I initially thought of writing a blog post for Wes and the World, my first thought was to focus on the re-entry process when returning from abroad. Returning from abroad can be extremely difficult, and is oftentimes associated with feelings of…
Spring Edition of WeScrive
Written by Emily McDougal ’23 Welcome to this semester’s issue of WeScrive, the only Italian magazine at Wesleyan University and one of its few publications not in English! As we all know, this has been the year of COVID and, as such, it’s been a very strange time: at times depressing, at times stressful, and…
Staying Connected Abroad
Written by Gem McHaffey ’21 In the fall of 2019 I studied abroad at the University of Edinburgh through the IFSA-Butler program, which means I was lucky enough to study abroad right before the pandemic. As a senior, this has also put me in the strange position of having my last “normal” semester of college…
Virtual Campus Tour for Prospective International Students
Bold and Ransho are both second-year international students, working as Media Assistants at Fries Center for Global Studies. Bold hailing from Mongolia, and Ransho coming from Japan, became good friends in their First-Year Seminar class during freshman year. On April 7th at 8:00 in the morning, Ransho and Bold took prospective international students on the…
Beyond the Weirdness of Time Zones and Snow in April
Written by Lucía Guerrero, Spanish FLTA (2020-2021) This week during one of my tertulias, one student Zoomed in from a very sunny field on campus, raving over how great the weather had been. The next day, another student told me that it’d snowed. Sitting just above the equator, my home city of Bogotá doesn’t have…