Undergraduate Study Abroad

Brown students should study abroad because it genuinely is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Don’t get me wrong- Brown is really great, but there is a whole world out there that Brown is preparing you to enter. Being able to grasp what that world feels like in the midst of your Brown journey is an immensely valuable experience that will allow you to evaluate yourself, the time that has passed, and the time you have left. Also, studying abroad doesn’t mean completely separating yourself from Brown! There is a ton of support abroad, from faculty and students, so it’s less so of a separation from Brown and an opportunity to see it in a different light. Never again will you be the age you are with the opportunity to see the world with Brown cheering you on! 

My favorite food/recipe abroad was from Tlayudas from Oaxaca! It’s a large crispy tortilla that is topped with refried beans and cheese- my host family also added avocado and pork. It was delicious!!!

My favorite course abroad was titled “Project Death” and it was about our progress on our semester-long project. Our visiting Professor, who traveled with us, supported us in synthesizing our ideas and helping us create projects that not only challenged us academically, but also creatively. I ended up envisioning an exhibition space for photos, videos, poems, and voice memos I gathered and created throughout the semester. In this, I was able to delve into critical academic texts that decentered Western lenses of time, space, memory, and light. It was one of the first times I was able to bring academia and my creative endeavors into an expansive project that I can keep developing! 

One of my most meaningful experiences abroad was in Ghana with my study abroad cohort. During our free days, we went to the Volta region, which is in the Southeast of Ghana. Here, we climbed one of Ghana's tallest mountains and saw one of the tallest waterfalls in all of West Africa. 

I miss constantly being exposed to new things! Even after I got settled into places while I was abroad, there were new things around me every day. Whether it was learning a new slang word in the local language or noticing a growing flower plant on the corner of the street I always walked along, I miss being surrounded by constant novelty. While it was overwhelming at times, I can now reflect and cherish that feeling. Now, it translates into me trying my best to experience new things, big or small, as often as I can. 

I decided to study abroad because I knew that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. As someone who deeply values starting anew, I saw studying abroad as a chance to discover a new part of myself. I knew all of the logistics would be taken care of and that the only thing I’d be completely in charge of was being present and taking it all in. I saw myself going abroad as an opportunity to face my fears while having a range of support systems there to keep me afloat and keep me going. In other words, I knew that if I felt anxious or nervous or scared, which I definitely did at some points, all I had to do was ground myself because my food, accommodation, and school were taken care of.