A Blog about Education Abroad

Author: Sarah-J

  • Inance at the University of Bologna, Italy

    Inance at the University of Bologna, Italy

    Pre-departure:

    For me the semester abroad meant much more than just an exchange. Living abroad, specifically Italy, has been something I thought about often but I never dared to explore the possibility. However, I knew that I would one-day regret not pursuing this dream. So, for about a year and a half before my exchange I started studying Italian, simply because I liked the language and the Italian way of life and I had a hope to perhaps have a use for it someday. Little did I know that an adventure of a lifetime was waiting for me…

    (more…)

  • My visit to the land of a thousand lakes…

    My visit to the land of a thousand lakes…

    Jodi attending the Helsinki Summer School.

    Pre-departure Planning:

    I got news of being selected to attend the Helsinki Summer School at the end of April and immediately starting wondering what needed to be done. Fortunately, I had more time to prepare, as the Summer School was only scheduled to commence the second week of August, whereas other Summer Schools were held during June and July. Stellenbosch University International (SU International) hosted an orientation session in May and it was quite helpful, despite my having travelled to Europe before. I consulted the Finnish Embassy’s website (http://www.finland.org/Public/Default.aspx) and emailed them as early as 16 May.

    (more…)

  • Matt at Stanford University, USA

    Matt at Stanford University, USA

    Pre-departure:

    Once I had accepted my admission offer to Stanford, everything went by fairly quickly. Stanford provided a detailed checklist of all the things that needed to be sorted before I arrived. The list didn’t seem to end.

    The preparations needed for a two and a half month trip overseas are enormous, especially if you are travelling alone. Luckily, my accommodation and food was already all sorted as it was provided by Stanford University (at a pretty hefty fee). The only things left were the flights and the visa.

    (more…)