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This coming semester I will be continuing my study abroad trip to Ifrane, Morocco. I am very interested to experience a new culture and country. 

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I am studying at James Cook University next semester. James Cook is located in Townsville, Australia. I've travelled out of the country in the past, but Australia will be the furthest from home I've ever been. I love to go new places and experience new cultures, so I am very excited to be emerged in Australian way of life. One of the main reasons I wanted to study abroad at James Cook is the unique classes they are able to offer by being so close to the reef. Along with getting familiar with the Australian culture, I also want to get a good understanding for the Australia's unique ecosystem in shore and in the ocean. I hope to use my experiences at James Cook to polish my educational experience to prepare me for graduate school and a career in environmental science. 

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I will be studying at Lancaster University this next semester. I am so excited that I have this chance. I have loved England since I was very little. All of my favorite books and movies are set in England, and a fair amount of my favorite authors, such as J.K. Rowling and William Shakespeare, are from there. My dad even thinks that either I will come home with a British guy or I won't come home at all. My goal is to get all that I can out of this experience. I don't usually have the chance to travel, so I will also try to see as much as the world as I can. One of my main travel goals is to see the places of my ancestors. Most of my ancestors came from Ireland and Scotland, but my grandmother's grandmother was a lady in waiting for Queen Victoria. My education goals are to learn as much as I can. I also want to get a feel for uni in England. I am thinking about possibly going to grad school there, and this gives me the perfect opportunity to test the waters. 

Upon my return, I hope to be more outgoing than I am right now. I hope to be a more worldly person. And I hope to learn even more about England and its people. I already love it so much.

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Ever since I was little, I've always been fascinated by other cultures. I've always wanted to experience how other people live. When I was younger, I didn't really understand how people could live differently then I do, I didn't fully understand the concept of culture. Once I was old enough to understand the idea behind culture, I knew I wanted to study abroad. The only problem was deciding where. I learnt some French in pre-school and loved the way it sounded, when I started Spanish in 2nd grade, I discovered I liked French more so I started to teach myself French and fell in love with the language over the years and by the time I was 10 years old, I knew that I wanted to study abroad in France, particularly Paris. It became one of the biggest goals in my life to be able to finally go to Paris, not just for a vacation (although I never got to do that) but to live there, to see what the French way of life was really about. I came to Allegheny planning to go a broad my junior year and when I was accepted I was ecstatic. I would finally be able to go to France, be immersed in the culture. Sure, I had spent years in a classroom learning the language and about the culture but that’s not the best way to learn about other cultures in my opinion. I can't wait to go to Paris next semester, be immersed in the culture, meet new people, try new things. I really hope that I will grow as a person from this experience and if what I see happened to all of my friends who have studied abroad happens to me, then I am in for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Not only will I get to have amazing new experiences, but I will also be honing my language skills and will hopefully become fluent in French, a long-time goal of mine, along with seeing the one world landmark I have always wanted to see, the Eiffel Tower.

http://lifeus.info/the-interesting-things-of-eiffel-tower.html

Test Post

I'm going to spend spring of 2015 studying in Lancaster, England. This experience is one I've been hoping to achieve since first arriving at Allegheny. While I have an idea of what awaits me based on the experiences of those who've gone before me, I am leaving myself open to any and all experiences I can. I hope to learn and grow as a person, and understand the increasingly small world I live in better.

One definitive goal I have is to meet new people, and learn from them. The only way I'll be able to further learn about myself is if I learn from others. So going abroad is a logical step. I'm excited and nervous, but ready.

Test Entry

I am one of the few study off-campus students that is not leaving the United States.  I will be studying marine biology and ecology at the Duke University Marine Laboratory in Beaufort, North Carolina.  However, my time at Beaufort will be anything but familiar or boring.  I will be living on an island on the Atlantic Ocean.  Additionally, I will completing a two week program in St. Johns, United States Virgin Islands (see picture above) during which I will study rare and tropical marine life.

Although I will not be immersed in a new culture in the way my peers will, I expect to have a life changing experience.  I am most looking forward to, and most nervous about, learning new things under world renowned marine biologists.  The approach will be very different than it is at Allegheny; it will be primarily hands-on, independently driven learning compared to the traditional classroom learning at Allegheny.  However, it will be similar to Allegheny overall.  I am also looking forward to the block scheduling at Duke in which we take one course at a time.  I believe this chance to fully indulge in one class at a time will allow deeper learning and less stress.  It will be particularly nice because I will not have four simultaneous cumulative finals to complete in May.

Similar to the international travelers, I will be living in a strange place and gaining a form of independence I did not have at Allegheny.  As my family lives in Pittsburgh, I have never been very far from home while at college, but this study away program will push me past my comfort zone in the same way it will other students.  I believe this will appropriately prepare me for graduate school.

Finally, I am most excited about seeing and studying tropical animals like sea turtles, sea horses, dolphins, etc.  As an aspiring ecologist, it has always been mildly disappointing to be restricted to the fauna and flora present in Western Pennsylvania.  I believe this experience will make me more passionate about my major and future career than every before.


When I return from Duke, I want to remember the research I have conducted and the personal strides I have made in gaining more independence and learning to adapt to new environments.

-Emily Graves

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For my study abroad experience, I will be going to Monteverde, Costa Rica. It's going to be awesome. I've traveled to different countries before, but only for short periods of time. This study abroad trip is so much different. I get to live in a different country for three months! The experiences I'll have, and the knowledge I'll gain are unfathomable. It will be very eye-opening to detach myself from the American lifestyle and completely immerse myself in a vastly different culture. I've never been in Central America before, so I have literally no idea what to expect.

I am really enthusiastic about living in a country that is world-renowned for their environmental conservation efforts. I am most looking forward to our field trips to the Cloud Forest right outside of Monteverde. I hear its muy bueno! I'm also very intrigued to see how I do with the Spanish language barrier. One of my main goals for this trip is to become proficient in the Spanish language (could be overly-optimistic). I also really hope that I get to play some "futbol" with some Costa Ricans. Lastly, I aim to learn key skills from this trip that I can use in a future professional career.