2019 Summer, May Term

Nick Zurasky: Post 1

Nick Zurasky H-SC May Term Abroad Münster, Germany Summer 2019 I’ve never been to Europe before, so this is my first time experiencing a whole other culture 4,000 miles away from home. I will say that my first week and a half in Germany has been one of the best parts of my life so far. I have seen so many new and exciting places to explore, and I’ve loved every single place I have been to. I have already visited two castles while in Germany, and both of them have stunned me. Seeing just how old some of these […]

2019 Spring, Semester

Yafet Cole: Post 4

Yafet Cole Richmond the American International University London, England Spring 2019 There are several different things that I am going to miss when I go back to Hampden-Sydney in the Fall of 2019. The lifestyle and the friends I have made are most likely what I am going to miss the most when I leave London. I have gotten into such a routine here and it will be difficult to transition back once I return to Hampden-Sydney. Due to the private nature of the campus, I will not be able to walk out of the dorm and head down to […]

2019 Spring, Semester

Laken Williams: Post 2

Laken Williams Akita International University Japan Spring 2019 Settling in With New Friends I apologize for the wait, but every day seems like a new adventure, and I don’t know where to start or where to end a blog post. Here at AIU, we are now mid-way into our spring break, which is known as “Golden Week,” and, apparently, it is something that is planned semesters in advance for Japanese students, so, for us international students, many of our plans had to be altered because of flights and trains already being bought out. Also, the recent events with the abdication […]

Semester

Yafet Cole: Post 3

Yafet Cole Richmond the American International University London, England Spring 2019 My commute to class in London is a whole lot different than my travel to class at Sydney. Surprisingly, it is actually a shorter commute, which is a bit of a surprise when you think about how small Hampden-Sydney is. At Hampden-Sydney, any student can walk to any building within about five to 10 minutes. But, at my school in London, I’m able to get to my classes within about three to five minutes. My classrooms are about a block or two over from my dorm building. Instead of […]

Semester

Yafet Cole: Post 2

Yafet Cole Richmond the American International University London, England Spring 2019   The way I spend my free time in London is way different compared to the way that I spend my free time at Hampden-Sydney. It is nice because there is always something to do. There has not been a day where I spend my whole day in my room or in my bed. Usually, when I am at Hampden-Sydney, I go hang out with friends or just hang around in my room. London is such a bigger area, so I am able to go out and do more […]

Semester

Laken Williams: Post 1

Laken Williams Akita International University Japan Spring 2019 Why AIU? I have always wanted to come to Japan because of its unique cultural traditions and the beauty of the country, especially in spring. The reasons I chose Akita International University are 1) that all the classes are taught in English, 2) the university is set in a rural area, which is important to me because I have always lived in small towns, and 3) being an international university, I have the opportunity to meet students from all over the world, in addition to meeting Japanese students. What am I most […]

Semester

Yafet Cole: Post 1

Yafet Cole Richmond the American International University London, England Spring 2019 I had been wanting to experience a semester away from Hampden-Sydney just to witness what it would be like. After I spent the summer of 2017 in Ethiopia, I thought it would be beneficial to travel a bit more. The idea of studying abroad came along, and it was then that I began to start the process to get myself to my destination. The process was honestly straightforward. I narrowed it down to whether I would spend this time in England or Australia. Australia seemed more of an adventure […]

Academic Year

Christian Blankenship: Post 4

Christian Blankenship London School of Economics London, England 2018/19 I decided to spend my Christmas break in London so that I could experience the city without the responsibility of school, and also to travel a little through Europe. Admittedly, it felt extremely odd being away from home for Christmas, but my brother came to visit for a week at Christmas which helped. He spent a total of four days in London, and we also visited Paris for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and then we traveled to Brussels for two more days. While in London, we attended an Arsenal match […]

Semester

David McElrath: Post 4

David McElrath JYF Sweet Briar Paris, France Fall 2018 Slow goodbyes and Yellow Jackets – on partings during the “jillets jaunes manifestations de 2018” I find that it’s always helpful to take a moment to look back over a period of time, or an experience of some sort, and to savor and appreciate it fully before my memory naturally applies a rose-tinted filter. It’s good to remember the good with the bad, the hard and the easy, things won and lost. As I approach the end of my semester abroad (six days to go from the writing of this post), […]