2016 Fall, Academic Year

Adrian Guerra: Post 2

Adrian Guerra London School of Economics London, England Fall 2016 The commute here is vastly different from that of H-SC. The walk to campus is a good fifteen to twenty minutes away depending on how fast you’re willing to walk. The sights on the way over are breathtaking. I pass by the river every day which is really fun, since there are always street performers and something exciting happening every day. The smell, when crossing the river, is that of caramelized nuts which is amazing and always tempts me to break my diet. I really lucked out with the living […]

May Term

Winner of the VFIC Experiential Learning Scholarship

Jack Dawson Spain 2016 During my airplane flight to Spain for the Hampden-Sydney May Term, I was a little apprehensive because I had never studied abroad. I knew Spanish at a decent level, but was concerned I would not be able to converse with my instructors or my host family enough to communicate properly. This was the first trip I had taken where I had to manage getting back and forth to school, handling my own problems (in a foreign language) and exploring a country and its cities on my own (there were some group activities). Since Spanish was the […]

Summer

Traveling Abroad with Biosecurity Internship

Patrick Woolwine ’17 September 09, 2016 For the second consecutive summer, Patrick Woolwine ’17, a foreign affairs major from Fairfax, Virginia, has worked as a global security researcher for the defense contracting firm Cubic Global Defense. The firm directly supports the Cooperative Biological Engagement Program of the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) under the Department of Defense. Patrick’s team travels all over the world to protect national security and to engage and assist foreign governments with achieving their international obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention. This summer, Patrick traveled to Manila, Philippines, to attend a national biological materials-of-concern write-shop […]

Summer

Hunter Williams: Building Communities in Uganda

September 01, 2016 Hunter Williams ’20 Some callings are so strong that you end up going back to them. For Hunter Williams ’20, that calling was Sozo Children in Kampala, Uganda. This summer, Hunter made his second humanitarian trip to help children in the capital of the small East-African nation. Sozo Children is a Christian non-profit organization building a permanent community for Ugandan orphans and impoverished children. This community, called The Village, is currently under construction on 28 acres near Kampala. Sozo Children has already dug two wells and will soon build homes in The Village to replace the facilities […]

Summer

Tyler Langhorn: Finding Confidence in Prague

September 05, 2016 Tyler Langhorn ’17 Many students who travel abroad for study or work use that opportunity to explore far beyond their base. Others though, like government major Tyler Langhorn ’17, immerse themselves in their new community and try to live like the locals. Tyler is from Roanoke, Virginia, but spent his summer working as an intern at the Fulbright Commission in Prague, Czech Republic. He spent his days conducting English-language evaluations of Czech students wanting to study in the United States. However, he spent his nights in a kolej kajetenka, a building that houses both a hotel and college […]

2016 Fall, Academic Year

Adrian Guerra: Post 1

Adrian Guerra London School of Economics London, England Fall 2016 Hello, my name is Adrian Guerra and I am studying abroad in London. I am enrolled in the London School of Economics General course and will be taking several economics courses as well as a philosophy and government course. Being in London has already presented an abundance of opportunities like joining clubs, getting to know the very vast and diverse city, and of course studying at the best economics school in the world. I look forward to exploring this amazing city and going to one of the many theatrical performances […]

2016 Fall, Academic Year

Guy Cheatham: Post 1

Guy Cheatham London School of Economics London, England Fall 2016 A Gamble I have doubts. We all have doubts. This tendency is what makes us humans truly human, and I understand that if I did not have doubts regarding my commitment to spend a year in a foreign country, I would not be properly assessing the risks of said commitment and would be going in with a blind eye. These doubts are different however because I am excited for the same things in which I am nervous for, and the main thing in which I express both excitement and doubt […]

2016 Summer

Ryan Kluk: Post 8

Ryan Kluk CIEE Perth, Australia Summer 2016 Blog 8: Goodbye Perth Five weeks comes and goes in the blink of an eye. Just thirty-six days ago, I boarded a plane in Charlotte, North Carolina and headed west for Perth. I have truly enjoyed my time here in Australia and the lifelong friends that I have made during my study abroad experience. I’ll never forget the fourteen hour ride from Perth to Yardie, throwing quadrat after quadrat, begging to be in Paul’s car, the cold water of Rockingham to scuba dive, the rainy rugby match, or all the time spent in […]

2016 Summer

Ryan Kluk: Post 7

Ryan Kluk CIEE Perth, Australia Summer 2016 Blog 7: Sanctuary Zones in Ningaloo A marine sanctuary zone is an area in the ocean that is specifically set aside for conservation. All marine life, corals and fish, and the habitat if completely protected from human impacts and pollution. There is a total of twenty-one sanctuary zones along the Ningaloo Reef. The sanctuary zones allow for humans to look, but not take. These zones are one of the most effective ways of protecting the species that live in the reef and conserving the true nature and beauty of the reef. The Ningaloo […]

2016 Summer

Ryan Kluk: Post 6

Ryan Kluk CIEE Perth, Australia Summer 2016 Blog 6: Coral Reef Protection Ningaloo Reef has been a protected World Heritage Site (WHS) since 2011. A WHS is listed by the UNESCO as having important cultural or physical significance that is special just to one area of the world. Other World Heritage Sites include: the Great Barrier Reef, Amazon Rain Forest, and the Great Pyramids of Egypt. UNESCO listed Ningaloo as a WHS because of its abundant marine life, vast majority of megafauna, cave fauna, and the contrast in colors from the water to the Cape Range Mountains. Being a WHS […]