Posts tagged study abroad
Alisa Silven, University of Maryland, Post #1: First experiences
Hi all!
My name is Alisa Silven, a bachelor student at the Delft University of Technology. My major is Technology, Policy and Management, but this semester I’m studying Civil Engineering at the University of Maryland. With blog posts I want to give you an insight into the life as an exchange student in the United States.
At August 26th I flew into Washington Dulles International Airport and my abroad adventure started!
The first week all the exchange students had an orientation week. It started on campus; it was so huge! We’ve also visited D.C. and went to our first football game; I didn’t know these games were so long (we left after halftime, after a solid two hours!), but fortunately we won! It was an amazing experience; everyone wore red or something with the print of the Maryland state flag, there were fireworks after every touchdown and during halftime the marching band performed. I always heard everything in the United States was big, and it is true; even the marching band consists of 600 students!
I have planned trips with the group of seven international girls I met during orientation week. We are often visiting D.C.; we have done the Capitol Tour, seen the Washington Monument and the White House, gone on a shopping trip and had a night with diner and drinks at the busy U-Street.
Last week we went to our first Baseball game: the Washington Nationals versus the Miami Marlins. Unfortunately we lost, but it was a great experience. Baseball is also a very long game, the game started at 7 and ended at 11 PM!
All these activities are a lot of fun, but I have to study too! The educational system differs a lot from that in the Netherlands. Each week I have a million deadlines, (homework) assignments, discussions, quizzes, midterms, projects and finals. Studying in the United States is hard work, but combined with the fun trips and activities, it has been an amazing experience!
I’ll keep you updated!
Oscar Heerkens Thijssen, Clemson University, post 1: Clemson at a glance
Dear reader,
I was asked to write this blog about my life as an exchange student at Clemson University to give you an idea of what an exchange in Clemson is like. By the end, hopefully, you may be able to make up your mind as for where you want to go!
My name is Oscar Heerkens Thijssen. I am a 21-year-old bachelor student at Delft University of Technology. My major is Mechanical Engineering.
Clemson is a great place! I love the people and place is wonderful. There are basically two parts: the campus and the town of Clemson. Most students live on campus and so do I. It is a perfect place to hang out, drink coffee and meet people. While walking around campus I run into so many people, I met at parties, while going out or at the gym, that walking to class takes longer every day.
When it comes to size Clemson and Delft are very much alike. A big university is a small city. It is one of the aspects I like a lot about Clemson. You will not feel lost and in no time you know a significant number of people around. The location is also a big advantage. Clemson is located in total west of South Carolina. It is very close to the mountains and rainforests of North Carolina as well as the Atlantic coast and cities like Atlanta and Greenville.
The campus is beautiful and lively. There are tons of facilities like swimming pools, restaurants, cinemas, gyms, saunas, dining halls, etc. The campus also has a lake beach on the shores of Lake Hartwell. A lot of sailing and wakeboarding is done here. But, just chilling in the warm waters and zipping a beer is also a perfect way of enjoying the lake.
In my next posts I will tell some more about parties so far, the international community and the football season which is about to start.
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!
Julia van der Burgt, Georgia Tech, Post #1 Introduction
This semester I study at Georgia Institute of Technology (GaTech) in Atlanta, US. I wanted to do a minor in Material Science and the Global E3 program gave me the chance to go to GaTech and follow the Nano-material certificate program.
I’ve been studying here for already three months, in which I have seen and learned a lot and had many great experiences. I’m taking courses about nanomaterials, nanoscale devices, quantum mechanics and some general materials science. It’s a good coherent program and although I had expected my courses to be quite challenging, since I’m taking 3rd and 4th year materials science courses as an AE student, it hasn’t been too difficult so far.
The campus of GaTech is very nice. I have classes in many different buildings, which have all good facilities. Because most students live on-campus, whole student life takes place on the campus, and there is always something going on: music, activities, games, which makes it very lively. Sports facilities are great: I’m a swimmer, so the Olympic pool of ’96 is one of the best things I’ve found here and I made a lot of friends in the swim club.
GaTech is not really a place to go if you play music: I started playing in the Symphony Orchestra, but I quitted after a couple of weeks because I didn’t like it. I decided that I rather spend my time outside, because I think the weather in Atlanta in the fall is perfect!
I live off-campus, and I could bike to school in shorts every day till the end of October. Although Atlanta is not a very bike-friendly city, I can bike around a lot. This is great, it gives me a lot of freedom, because the public transport here is very bad. Most Americans (of course) use their car, but biking works very well!
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