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), […]

Academic Year

Christian Blankenship: Post 3

Christian Blankenship London School of Economics London, England 2018/19 After living in London for three months, I can now claim, rather confidently, that I have effectively adjusted to living here. Aside from developing a brisk walking pace to replace the traditional slow saunter that I have known my whole life, I have also found myself walking to practically every destination. I rarely use public transport, such as buses, taxis, or the underground, even though there are numerous stations surrounding my residence. The ease of navigating the London streets and the experience associated with it is much more valuable to me, […]

2018 Fall, Semester

Arthur White: Post 7

Arthur White IFSA- Butler Universadad Nacional Heredia, Costa Rica Fall  2018 Nos vemos, Tiquicia! This post has been a long time coming and I have to say that it also is coming so soon. About a month ago, my program members and I got to visit the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and it was incredible. One thing most people don’t know about Costa Rica is that most of the country isn’t on the beach, and it is in fact, not, an island. From the capital of San Jose, which is rather close to me, it takes about five to […]

Academic Year

Christian Blankenship: Post 2

Christian Blankenship London School of Economics London, England 2018/19 It has now been nearly two months since I arrived in London and began my studies at LSE. It has been difficult adjusting to the different class format here at the school, but it’s been a refreshing change. I’ve had to improve my studying habits and time management skills in order to properly take advantage of the many activities present in London, and to also keep up with the rigorous schedule here. Aside from the different class structure, I do slightly miss the short 5-10 minute walk to class from the […]