Here…finally! by Maddie Stevens

My arrival into London was unexpected, to say the least. Luckily, I traveled with another OHIO student from my group. After having our flight delayed twice, missing the connecting flight into London and having to stay in a hotel in Newark, New Jersey for a night, we finally arrived 12 hours later than planned. Trekking three miles through the city to get the keys to our apartments we would be staying in and then not having any internet connection or way to use the telephone to let our parents know we were alive was just the icing on the (stressful) cake that the “Traveling Gods” had baked up for us. However, once we were finally settled in and the anxiety of the past 24 hours subsided, we were ready for our first big day in London!

London's Big Ben

It has definitely been an amazing trip so far, and there has not been much culture shock that I can speak of. The biggest difference I have noticed thus far is that we do everything much faster in the United States, especially service at restaurants and coffee shops! I have also been fortunate enough to run into some extremely kind people. Everyone is always willing to answer questions about directions, offer information about themselves or ask you about your life. This is something I absolutely love, because I enjoy talking to everyone about everything! It has been my favorite part about traveling, and I look forward to exploring the city even more and to discover even more about this culture.

The Final Countdown by Julia Brown

So much to do and so little time!

It’s t-minus two days till I depart on my transatlantic flight to Paris, and yet there’s still so much to be done. My bags are pretty much packed, Euros are waiting to be picked up at the bank, I’ve been searching everywhere for an outlet converter for my laptop, and I am still waiting on my International Student ID Card to arrive by mail, yikes!

Everything is happening so fast… It feels like just yesterday I applied for this trip, and now it’s finally here. Where did the time go? Pre-departure jitters have definitely started to set it, but I am excited. I’ve been spending every spare moment going over my French Survival Phrases sheet that includes helpful phrases like ‘Parlez-vous anglais?’ and ‘Je suis perdue,’ meaning ‘Do you speak English’ and ‘I am lost,’ which I’m sure will come in handy.

Wednesday night (Dec 2) at 6:08 I fly from Columbus to Philadelphia, and then I am off on a 7 hour and 30 minute flight from Philly to France. When we arrive, my group and I will be staying at the Hotel du Levant, a family-run hotel right in the middle of the famous Latin Quarter of the city. In the mornings we will be going to various museums and historical places, while the rest of the day will be open for free time. I found a great website: A Student’s Guide to Paris, listing music venues, shopping areas, and even where to eat on a budget! We will be taking tours through the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Chateau de Versailles, and down The Seine River. I am most excited to the top of the Eiffel Tower, to see The Winged Victory of Samothrace at the Louvre, and my favorite artist Edgar Degas’ collection of dancer paintings and sculptures at Musée d’Orsay.

Are you ready for an inside look into Paris, France? I hope so.

Au Revoire!

**Julia is on her way to France right now. Let’s hope the plane food and free movies are good for her sake!

“my heart’s devotion” by ugonna okpalaoka

“Pueeeeerto Ricooo. My heart’s devotion..” 
 
I’ve had the West Side Story song on repeat for most of the week. Why you ask? Because I’ve got a great opportunity to visit my heart’s devotion as one of OHIO’s education abroad programs. 
 
I leave next week and I am not prepared at all. Blame it on my procrastination streak, but I have not devoted much time to getting ready for my trip. I still need to schedule a hair appointment, do laundry, buy some new summer clothes, make a packing list, ACTUALLY USE my packing list, call my bank, and figure out how the heck I am going to make phone calls because my cell phone network will not work on the island. 
 
It’s not really a lot to do. 
 
Except for the fact that I leave in three days. 
 
But, not to worry! Part of being a procrastination queen is the amazing ability to complete all necessary tasks in time. If I can actually get up early enough on Black Friday to catch the end of the Thanksgiving deals at the mall then I will get everything done. 
 
But, let’s focus on the fact that I am going to Puerto Rico. PUERTO RICO! Obviously, I am excited.  Anybody who knows me knows about my obsession with Latin/Spanish cultures. I have almost successfully convinced my family that some of our ancestors were Puerto Rican. It doesn not hurt that my grandmother has her own crazy ideas about the origins of our family to support mine, ha. 
 
Though I have taken Spanish classes since first grade, my Spanish skills are lass than fabulous.  I can scribble out a mostly coherent sentence or two in the language, but my oral skills are severely lacking. That is why I have always wanted to study abroad in a Spanish-speaking country;  immersion is supposed to be one of the best educators. 
 
I have heard Puerto Rico is supposed to be Americanized and its Spanish is filled with slang terms, but I don’t  care. This is going to be a good experience regardless of how much language skill I get out of it. Even if it is an Americanized country, it is still a different culture that I’ve yet to experience. 
 
Our flight leaves early in the morning on November 30, and from the moment our plane lands in my heart’s devotion, it’s going to be a rush of historical sites, university lectures, Spanish cuisine, beaches, and new friends. 
 
To say I am excited is an understatement.

**Ugonna arrived in “her heart’s devotion” on November 30. She will continue to reflect on her experiences there through the OEA blog site.

OHIO Education Abroad program featured in local news

OHIO University’s SHARE Kenya education abroad program, one that gives medical students, physicians and allied health professionals an opportunity to build their skills, deepen their empathy and understanding for underserved populations, and provide much-needed care through a hands-on learning experience in Kisumu, Kenya was recently featured in an article by the Athens News.

Read the full length  story here.

Picking the Perfect Program

When Krista Baddour, a senior English major, visited the Office of Education Abroad for Walk-in Advising Hours during the beginning of her junior year she knew she wanted to study abroad, but she did not know where she wanted to go. “All I knew was that I wanted to go abroad somewhere because I wanted a different educational experience,” Krista said.

An OEA Peer Advisor spoke with Krista to find out her interests. They sorted through various OHIO programs, affiliate programs and outside organizations before discovering that Krista’s real interest was to study the Spanish language. “I had studied three years of Spanish in high school and a year at OHIO, but I really wanted to study the language in an actual Spanish-speaking country,” Krista said. After doing a good amount of research on her own, Krista narrowed her choices down to two OHIO programs: the Toledo, Spain program and the Merida, Mexico program.

Krista had already traveled to Spain during her senior year of high school. Plus, she was interested in visiting a non-traditional study abroad location which made Merida the perfect choice. “I finally chose the program to México because I knew several people who had previously gone and really enjoyed their experience.” 

Finances also played an important part in Krista’s decision. Choosing a location like Latin America and sticking to a strict budget helped Krista to be able to travel almost every weekend to locations all throughout the country. “Also, there are a lot of scholarships available [for many programs] and ways to help fund your experience abroad so take advantage!”

Krista recommends students looking into this program and any other program start planning early. You never know if you will want to return to the country you studied in or go abroad again later in college. “This was one of my biggest regrets because I started thinking about this too late,” she said.

For more tips from Krista, visit the Office of Education Abroad during Walk-in Advising from 1pm-4pm Mon-Thurs. She currently serves as one of our helpful Peer Advisors.