Stephanie: Studying abroad

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to study in a different country for a few weeks, or even a semester? Our students tell you a bit about their overseas experiences.

Q. Tell us about your overseas experience.
A. Last year I took the opportunity to travel on a two-week study tour to South Africa and Rwanda. The unit was called “Seeking Justice” and it was about reconciliation and justice in post-Apartheid South Africa and post-genocide Rwanda.

Q. Why did you choose to go on exchange?
A. I went on this study tour because I’d never been to Africa before, and because I thought that it would be a much more powerful way of learning and understanding about history I knew very little about. Having been on a semester exchange in high school and travelled extensively in my GAP year, I knew that going to South Africa and Rwanda would be a new and fascinating experience, even though the content of the course was harrowing and emotionally difficult.

Q. Why did you choose to go to Africa?
A. I had never been to Africa before and I was highly interested in the history of both South Africa and Rwanda.

Q. Tell us about us one quirky activity or memory from your trip.
A. On my birthday in Rwanda, we went to an open-air cinema and watched a short film about a Rwandan man whose business as a bicycle taxi driver was booming, literally. He’d installed a radio on the back of his bike, making him the most popular taxi driver in his town. It was nice to watch a story about hope and happiness in Rwanda, given the country’s traumatic past.

Q. How do you think this experience improves your career outcomes or future goals?
A. I don’t think it will improve my career outcomes – this was a trip I did because I was interested in it, I went on it for personal reasons. Nevertheless, I think the trip possibly helped me to build increased tolerance and resilience, as well as exposing me to new attitudes and cultures.