Students share study abroad stories

On Tuesday, Feb. 22, students who had studied in a number of different counties  last semester gathered together at 51 Main to hear stories from their friends and classmates.

Going abroad for a semester is a once-in-a-lifetime experience which many students at Middlebury are lucky enough to enjoy. This fall, a number of juniors participated in study abroad programs across the globe, and many of them are now back at Middlebury. One of these students, Kylie Atwood ’12, studied abroad in Kenya this past fall. Upon returning to Middlebury, Atwood became frustrated as she tried to explain her trip to Kenya to friends who had not been with her.

“I did so much in Kenya, and the little snippets I was giving people when I passed them in the dining hall weren’t cutting it,” Atwood said. “I knew that if I felt like this, a lot of other students probably did too. I wanted to organize something where we could all share our stories with each other.”

With the help of administrators from the Study Abroad Office, Atwood organized “Study Abroad: Stories From Away.” She invited all returning juniors to an event at 51 Main, where students had the opportunity to share their favorite memories from abroad with each other.

Poised in front of a large slideshow flashing images of students riding camels, sailing across faraway oceans, and running through exotic-looking fields, Atwood kicked off the night by telling the audience about getting “grounded” by her program in Kenya for sneaking off to a safari with her parents. She then went on to describe the month she spent in Lamu, where she interviewed and photographed local Muslim women. The audience listened intently as Atwood spoke, while images of her dressed in a hijab flashed across the screen.

The night continued in an open-mic style, with students sporadically getting up and sharing their stories between conversations comparing different countries and programs. Over the course of about two hours, the audience was transported to Kenya, Italy, Scotland, Paris and China. Some stories were funny, like Emma Burke ’12 and Nial Rele’s ’12 description of their Christmas spent in Tibet, and some were sad, like Amy Johnson’s ’12 recount of her month-long internship at a mental hospital in Africa. But all were tinged with nostalgia for the places these students had called home for a semester. As the night drew to a close, each audience member left with a little bit of knowledge about a different part of the world, and a little bit of insight as to how many adventures can be packed into one short semester.