A Blog about Education Abroad

Author: Sarah

  • Prize in Mississippi, USA

    Prize in Mississippi, USA

    My name is Prize Joy Magezi from Uganda. I am in my final year of a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies at Stellenbosch University. I participated in an exchange program to the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) in the United States for the Spring Semester of 2014 (January to May). Here is a story about my unforgettable experience. This part of the story will mainly focus on the first month of arriving at the University as well as what happened before I arrived.

    I received my acceptance letter from the Stellenbosch International office in September 2013 and I was ecstatic! What a wonderful opportunity God had laid before me! Having grown up in the United States between the ages of 6 and 10, I was excited to go back and reunite with old friends and it had always been my dream to attend an American University. The months of October, November and December flew by. I was overloaded with academic work that I had to make sure was done well so as to maintain my good grades. I visualised in my mind every night what it would be like in America. I was excited, happy and grateful. (more…)

  • Rebecca in Austria

    Rebecca in Austria

    Rebecca took part in an semester exchange at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg. Here is her story.

    Getting there:

    The process leading up to finally getting to Austria, was extremely frustrating for me. I missed an entire semester because of problems and delays involving my visa application. Of course now that I am here I am so grateful that everything worked out the way it did. Arriving late caused me to miss the worst of the European Winter, as well as finding much better accommodation! The four story house I am living in is very close to the city center of Salzburg. It takes me just 15min to get to my clarinet lessons on my bicycle. My awesome house mates include a range of nationalities, including an Austrian, an American family and another fellow South African. The South African knows the city well, so he helped me find all the different buildings where I needed to register. Salzburg is incredibly romantic. The old buildings are full of character and style, and the Salzach (the large river that runs between the old city) and surrounding mountains give this Austrian city its enchanting qualities. The first month has now come and gone, and Salzburg has already stolen my heart!
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  • Inshiya in Germany

    Inshiya in Germany

    Pre- departure

    I heard about the concept of a summer school during International Week, from one of the many info booths propped up around campus. I simply walked up to one and spoke to a student who had been on a similar exchange programme, and the idea was born, an idea which strongly appealed to me. I eagerly began researching as to available opportunities and settled on a couple of programmes which I believed were most suitable. After completing my application there was nothing left to do beside wait and hope. Personally the video component was quite a daunting experience, particularly due to the fact there are no restrictions as to the number of retakes you are allowed, and before you know it you’ve spent hours in front of your webcam and haven’t yet managed to get through 8 minutes without making a mistake. But as this was something I truly wished for, I pushed through this obstacle.
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