Posted in December 2013
Julia van der Burgt, Georgia Tech, Post #2 End of Semester
Time flies by here in the US: classes are over, passed my final exams and now it’s already nearly Christmas! I’ve had a great time at GaTech and I have experienced many aspects of American life. In my previous post I already wrote a bit about life at GaTech and the classes I’m taking. Because of the education system here with quite a lot mandatory homework assignments, mid-term exams and in-class quizzes most of your grade is already determined before the final exams. It also forces you to keep up with the material covered in class, so all together finals where not a very big deal.
Of course I went abroad to learn more than the Nano-materials program I followed. I’ve taken each opportunity to see other aspects of life in the US, also outside of student life on campus. Most of my experiences and American friends I’ve found at the Christian Campus Fellowship (CCF). This student organization has all kind of activities and is a perfect place to find good friends that feel like your family when you are far away from home. With this organization I’ve done all kinds of volunteering work during which I’ve met many different people. I’ve eaten breakfast with the homeless, I’ve played with children in disadvantaged districts, helped with tornado relieve all the way in Moore, Oklahoma and during the Christmas break I go to Puebla in Mexico to build a well to provide drinking water.
CCF is also the place where I made most of my friends. We’ve been on a fun trip to Panama City Beach: swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, building sand castles, playing games and just having lots of fun.
After the final exams I had to leave my apartment, so now I’m visiting my friends and stay at their place. I just came back from a week in Knoxville where I visited the Smokey Mountains and Americas largest underground lake.
For Christmas I’ve been invited at another friends place, I’m ready for my first real American Christmas!
Jenneke Evers, University of Maryland, post #2
Life as an exchange student means experiencing living in another culture, speaking a different language, learning in a different style, but mostly meeting wonderful people from all around the world. In our first week at the university (which seems like such a long time ago already), all the international students were able to join activities to get to know each other and the university. We went to a baseball game in Washington DC where the Washington Nats were playing against the New York Mets. Our university is connected to the metro-network of the capital, so it’s easy to go to DC to have dinner, go out or go sightseeing. Together with my best friends (Fid from Istanbul, Mili from Buenos Aires and Irene from Valencia), we visit the city a lot. Washington DC is the capital of the United States and has a lot of government buildings and memorials. The city is different from other cities, because it does not have a skyline. The Washington Monument is officially the highest building in the city and no other building can be higher than the monument (169 m, not that high!).
Besides all the fun stuff, the main reason that I am here is of course to study. I am signed up for five courses, of which 3 in the transport engineering and 2 in international business and cultures. The style of teaching is much more school-like and personal, compared to my university. Classes of 30-40 people, homeworks and weekly quizzes are the standard. All the courses last the whole semester, so I just finished some midterms and in the last week, I have my finals. Time flies!
Bye, Jen
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