From Seoul to Sweden, students all over the world share experiences abroad – The Lafayette
Around the world, some Lafayette students take longer daily excursions than the walk from Fisher Hall to Farinon.
Rachel Wywoda ’23 is currently studying in Stockholm, Sweden through the Danish Institute of Study Abroad (DIS). Although she did not do any previous research on the city before she arrived, she quickly fell in love with the area.
“It’s a really amazing city. I would totally live here as a young adult,” Wywoda said.
As a major in biology and women’s, gender and sexuality studies, Wywoda can take courses in science and the humanities through DIS. One such class that she finds particularly interesting is human trafficking in Europe.
Outside of the lessons, Wywoda has been able to explore Sweden and the islands that make up Stockholm’s archipelago. She has gone on boat trips, visited the Royal Palace and traveled abroad to Brussels, Copenhagen and Finland.
One of Wywoda’s favorite things about Sweden is how comfortable she feels when she travels throughout the country.
“I feel super safe here. I have no problem walking around by myself with public transport at night,” says Wywoda.
Through all these excursions, Wywoda feels that she is maturing into a more independent and self-sufficient person.
“This is my first time in Europe, so I feel like I’m experiencing all of these new things on my own,” Wywoda said. “I feel this is a good step into adulthood.”
Foreign Policy Major Teniola Bakare ’23 currently lives on the other side of the world and is studying abroad in Seoul, South Korea through the Council of International Educational Exchange.
Bakers have been in South Korea in quarantine and settled for a few weeks; her lessons did not begin until March 2. To her dismay, Bakare’s lessons are mostly virtual during the semester.
“On the bright side, this means I can take lessons from anywhere in Seoul, so I will use that opportunity to visit cafes and libraries everywhere to have class,” Bakare wrote in an email.
After being released from quarantine and the week before the lessons began, Bakers explored the city and became acquainted with the wide variety of food and nightlife that Seoul has to offer.
“It’s fun to be in a big city and meet others of college age instead of just having people from your school to be near … It’s been great to have friends who live all over America and share this unique experience with them. “, wrote Bakare.
For sophomore engineering students, the spring semester is the ideal time to go abroad before the courses start to gain momentum in later college years. Mechanical engineer Jonathon Cresson ’24 has taken advantage of this opportunity during his time in Bonn, Germany through Lafayette’s engineering program.
Cresson has been studying German since the sixth grade. Although he has traveled to Germany before, he looks forward to having the whole experience during his four-month stay.
“It’s very nice to finally be here for a long time,” Cresson said. “I suck in so much more German.”
With his free time on the weekends, Cresson and his friends have been able to tour various places in Europe such as Venice, Italy and Strasbourg, France. They have also enjoyed the diverse nightlife of the city of Cologne, a 20-minute train ride from Bonn.
Through all his excursions, Cresson often recalls what his friends at Lafayette would come up with compared to his own experiences.
“It’s very common for us to find out what time it is on the east coast and think, if I were at Lafayette right now, I would go to the library or have dinner with friends,” Cresson said. “And then I would look at where we are now and be like, ‘Ohh, I’m on the Grand Canal in Venice and I have this beautiful view and everyone is still asleep. ‘”
At the same time, chemical engineer Jenna Herzog ’24 has explored Madrid, Spain. Even before she came to college, Herzog knew she wanted to study abroad and experience culture outside her small hometown in New York. Given that she has studied Spanish since primary school, she thought Madrid was the perfect place for her.
“When you grow up in a small suburban town, you do not realize how little there is to do there,” Herzog said. “There are just a crazy amount of opportunities here every second of the day. Public transport is so simple and clean, and it’s been really fun to learn and feel around.”
One of Herzog’s favorite things about Madrid is the city’s capacity for endless activities and explorations, along with its proximity to other European countries.
Herzog felt the great potential within reach during a hike in the Sierra de Guadarrama mountain range north of Madrid. At the top of the mountains, she realized that she could experience both the beauty of nature and city life.
“Suddenly we were all the way up in the mountains and looking at the rest of the city below us,” Herzog said. “It was a really opposite perspective of what we had before, but eye-opening to see all the things we can do.”