Lydia Lanski, a University at Buffalo Biological Sciences student, walks with members of the Maasai tribe of Tanzania.
We asked recent study abroad alumni about their experiences abroad. Here is what they had to say...
Mary Nguyen, CAPA London, Spring Semester
“My favorite memory while studying abroad was taking the "Tube" or the London Underground transport system. Ironic though, since one of the challenges that I faced while living there was figuring out how to ride the train. I got lost an embarrassing number of times -- but I also got to explore parts of London that my classmates never got to see. Taking the Tube meant another adventure waiting to be experienced.”
Tara Negar Jamanli, Teatromania, Summer
“My favorite memory on this trip washaving the chanceto perform in an Italian play by a celebrated Neapolitan playwright and actor, EduardoDeFilippo. It was my first time performing onstage in front of a live public, and practicing and performing the lines in Italian provided the perfect opportunity to enhance my Italian conversational skills”
Steven Coffed, UB Classics in Italy, Winter
“My favorite memory in studying abroad was my first day in Rome. We arrived in the city around 5 pm at our hotel, which was just outside the heart of downtown. A group of us decided to explore the city. We walked further downtown as the sun was about to set. We were walking through what seemed to be a residential neighborhood, when some enormous columns appeared at the end of the street. We walked beneath them, and found ourselves directly in front of the Vatican. As if that weren't enough to shock us, we had stood for not thirty seconds when the lights turned on for the night, mixing with the setting sun to form a golden halo over the centuries old capital of Christianity.”
Weijia Zhang, Bauhaus University-Weimar, Germany, Spring Semester
“The best thing about the International Advanced Architecture Design (IAAD) class was the excursions. We had a 10 day road trip to Switzerland, Austria and cities in southern Germany. It was a great opportunity to study modern/contemporary European architecture. We also drove to Stuttgart to have a joint critique with students in University of Stuttgart.”
Samantha Hobbs, Konan University, Japan Academic Year
“One of my favorite memories from Japan was a weekend I spent with my host family. It was a long weekend and each day I did something new and fun. With my host mom I went to the Zoo and aquarium on different days, which was an absolute blast. The last day, we went on a road trip to Amanohashidate in Kyoto. It was a gorgeous view of the beach and the sights on saw on the drive were some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen.”
Angeline Walker, Monash University, Australia, Spring Semester
“My favorite class was my Australian Idol (culture class) because the teachers told you the truth even if it didn't put Australia in the right light. I learned how to analyze and take morein froma place than just what the media/government wants you to see by reading news articles, talking to locals, and learning the government history.”
Matthew J. Zambito, Bilkent University, Turkey, Academic Year
“It is simply not possible to choose a favorite memory from my time abroad—my experiences would more properly be expounded in the form of a novel. Instead, I will choose a brief moment that is characteristic of the many challenges that I faced and overcame.
It was a cold January day. My birthday. I was sitting alone on the bottom bunk of a very hip, and not very clean, Istanbul hostel. My laptop was broken, so I responded to emails from friends and family by phone on a wireless connection. It was already dark outside, and the cobblestone streets of rainy Istanbul were not too appealing. Two days earlier I had been vacated for winter break from my dorm room in Ankara. A bus ticket to Istanbul was my natural reaction.
At twenty-five lira each night, I could not continue to hostel-hop for the next two weeks, so I emailed a friend about a teaching job a few hours north of Ankara. I didn't know yet, but there was one position left. The next day, I would take it. Five days later, I would be in a small town conservative boarding school—meter-stick and board marker in hand—teaching English to wide-eyed Turkish fifth-graders. Room and board would be free. My stipend would be two-hundred Turkish lira with free bus tickets. Several of the students would cry when I left. By early February when classes began again, I would be back in Ankara, in a new apartment, with some spending money in hand. It would be a good experience.
But as I sat alone on the bottom bunk of a dirty Istanbul hostel on my cold, rainy birthday, I didn't know any of that yet. And yet, I couldn't be happier.”
