Emma Loved Coursework Abroad

Although a lot of what students talk about when studying abroad is the ability to travel a lot, especially when studying in Europe, but Emma truly loved her course work.  She was studying Child Development, and part of that class involved working part time for practicum in a Danish kindergarten to get a better feel for their overall educational system.  Here is how she described their system. 

 




"The central theme of their early education is free play/nature play, which often includes risk and always includes creativity. As you can see, the outdoor playground materials are very ambiguous to foster creativity (the children always wear full snow suits so they can get as muddy as they please) :). One of the kindergartens has a wood shop where they actually learn how to use saws, axes and other seemingly dangerous tools as early as age 4!"






















Emma said that although her time there was cut short, she was "super grateful" of for the time she spent in Copenhagen.  She was able to travel some while there, and one of those weekend trips was to Amsterdam to the Van Gogh Museum. 







Additionally, she was able to spend time with teammate Shea, who was in the same program as she was and lived in a separate apartment with a different group of students, but in the same apartment complex.

Another one of her trips was to Switzerland to visit teammate El, where they went skydiving!  Emma and Shea started their program earlier than both El and Jaime and were gone from MIDD after the Christmas Break, while both El and Jaime were on campus for J-Term before starting their respective Programs in Prague and New Zealand.  In that sense, both Emma and Shea had a slightly longer time abroad due to when their program started, in addition to when they were sent home due to the global pandemic.

I'm so happy that all four of our juniors were able to have some sort of abroad experience, even if it was cut short.  Now we just have to find a time for Jack to get his abroad experience in.  Jack was due to travel to Japan in mid March, so not only did he not get his abroad experience, he was left without a semester since it was too far into Middlebury's semester to join late, and because his program never started, it was just cancelled rather than moved on-line.  We'll hope to get an update from him sometime in the future when we know more about the status of future abroad trips, and when that sort of travel might again be permitted and deemed safe.

El Cherished Her Time in Prague

Here's our second installment of our Juniors Abroad!  El studied in Prague, Czech Republic for the semester.  She notes that while she enjoyed the several MIDD KIDS in her program, she also "had the opportunity to make the most incredible, lifelong group of friends, many of whom were from other NESCAC schools."  One of those friends was actually also a volleyball player, and although a purple cow, they became tight nonetheless!

One of the other many benefits of study abroad is typically the ability to travel and see a lot of different places while studying in your specific program.  As a side note, most Midd students report that study abroad is easier academically than Middlebury courses on campus.  Her travels included visiting Amsterdam, different cities in Switzerland and several other towns in The Czech Republic, and some of those excursions were to visit other MIDD friends studying abroad in Europe, including teammate Emma Walsh, who was studying in Copenhagen! On one excursion, they met up in Switzerland and even went skydiving together!

Although traveling was exciting and fun, El fell in love with the city of Prague and everything it offered.  She cited the experience of being able to "live in a culture that differs so greatly from home was incredibly unique and valuable."  El, as so many Midd students, feels that the study abroad experience was integral to her college experience, and although her time abroad was cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic, she was extremely grateful for the opportunity!

Shea Grateful for Abroad Experience

Junior year abroad is a very common and popular experience for many college students, and certainly a large percentage of MIDD students take advantage of this wonderful opportunity--roughly 60% of the student body studies abroad at Middlebury.  This year, all four of my juniors were studying abroad, and our student-assistant, Jack, was about to leave for his program in Japan right when the world-wide shut down was happening.  The other four were already settled in their programs and had to return home due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  We're not going to focus on their trials of getting back home, even though some had extreme difficulties and were somewhat harrowing, they all returned home safely, so that's the main thing.  Despite the total disruption of the semester, our juniors still had memorable and profound experiences in their respective countries.

Both Shea and Emma were in Copenhagen, and had apartments across the hall from each other in the same apartment complex.  During her time there, Shea mentioned being lucky to have traveled a lot with her roommates and close friends from MIDD. They visited Belgium and Scotland, as well as different cities in Switzerland, France, and Germany.






Shea described it as, "the most incredible experience that I will cherish forever."  She also mentioned, "the thing I miss the most about Copenhagen is the city's biking culture. There's nothing like biking on a sunny day along the water to class, my apartment, or to a fabulous brunch place.  I am very grateful for my time there and being home has made me even more grateful..."