Click on the blogger’s name to read their posts throughout their semester abroad.
 Jeremy Arnold |
Jeremy is a junior at Texas Christian University and is participating in the IES Abroad Rome program. He is majoring in Religion and minoring in both History and Classical Studies. Rome was an easy choice for him, for the city serves as the hub of the largest Christian denomination in the world and was at one time the capital of the mighty Roman Empire. He can’t wait to experience the joys that a city with such a rich culture and history can offer, from cappuccinos to catacombs. |
 Anna Astanina |
Anna is a junior at Lafayette College and is participating in the IES Paris Business and Intl Affairs program. She is a double major in Music and International affairs. She chose to study in Paris because she had been obsessed with French culture for a very long time and can’t wait to practice her French with native speakers. |
 Sarah Bradley |
Sarah is a junior at Santa Clara University participating in the IES Granada program in Spain. She is majoring both in Political Science and Communication with an emphasis on journalism and a passion for international relations. She chose Granada due to it’s hybridity of European and North African, Christian and Muslim cultures as well as the opportunity to become fluent in Spanish. During the semester, she hopes to invigorate her investigative and creative aptitudes and capture more than just a glimpse of life in Andalucia. |
 Brittani Conley |
Brittani is a junior at Santa Clara University working towards a degree in Marketing. She loves cheerleading for SCU and writing short stories in her spare time. She is studying abroad in Barcelona and can’t wait to experience firsthand the beauty of the Spanish culture and lifestyle. |
 Sarah Harste |
Sarah is a junior at Wofford College and is participating in the IES Abroad Study London program. She is an English and Government double-major. She loves to write and can’t imagine a better place than London about which to write. She chose London because of the city’s extensive literary history. |
 Elizabeth Hodgman |
Elizabeth is a junior at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. She is a Film Major and a Spanish Minor and is participating in the IES Madrid program. She chose the Madrid program because of the film classes offered there and the opportunity to improve her Spanish. |
 Jade Lin |
Jade is a Brandeis University undergraduate in the IES Abroad Beijing program. As a Comparative Media Studies major, Journalism minor, and former b-girl (breakdancer), she is doing research for a thesis on the unique Beijing hip hop scene. She chose to study abroad in Beijing due to East Asia’s great propensity to excel in technology. After the 2008 Olympics, a perfect landscape for the study of cross-cultural pollination of international media has been created. As an interested anthropologist and aspiring journalist, she hopes to see it all, before defining what is problematic and what is innovative about media internationally. |
 Valerie Matron |
Valerie Matron is a senior at Tulane University majoring in Political Science and International Development. Initially she was looking to study abroad in a developing country to complement her development studies, but decided it was about time to put into practice her six years of French studies. Born to a French father and a Peruvian mother her main goal while abroad is to become trilingual and she will be participating in the IES Paris French Studies program. She also likes to take long walks in the park and secretly speak with animals. “Ey we all have our quirks no?” she says. Valerie cannot wait to indulge in the French lifestyle of too much vin et fromage. Above all, she is excited to be making a final pit stop in her ancestral route while benefiting of all that the city of love has to offer. |
 Anna Polonyi |
Anna is a junior in History & Literature at Harvard University, and is participating in the IES Berlin program for the fall. Coming from Alsace, she has studied German ever since she can remember. She promised herself at the age of fourteen, upon first visiting the capital, that she would return to live in the fascinating city of Berlin. |
 Andrew Ratzke |
Andrew is a Junior at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma Washington, and is participating in the IES Abroad Melbourne program. He is a Psychology and Political Science double major. He chose to study in Melbourne because the big city and big school lifestyle is much different than back home at his small liberal arts school. The beaches and sun didn’t hurt in choosing Australia either. |
 Jillian Rubman |
Jillian is a junior at Brandeis University and is participating in the IES Abroad Salamanca program. She is double majoring in Comparative Literature and Women’s and Gender Studies, and is double minoring in Hispanic Studies and East Asian Studies. She looks forward to exploring her majors and expanding her knowledge of Spanish language, art and culture this semester. |
 Lynsey Smith |
Lynsey is a junior at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio and is participating in the IES Amsterdam program. She is an English major and Philosophy minor. She is excited to experience the culture in Amsterdam and looks forward to traveling around Europe and studying literature and art at the University of Amsterdam. |
 Kallie Walker |
Kallie is a junior at Hope College in Holland, Michigan and will be studying at the IES center in Freiburg, Germany for the academic year. She is studying German, International Studies, and Dutch, but she also enjoys Norwegian and photography. She chose Freiburg partly because of it’s location in the Black Forest, as she is an avid snowboarder and cross country skier. She looks forward to meeting new people, experiencing the culture, and also traveling elsewhere in Europe during her stay. |
 Bristol Whalen |
Bristol is a junior at Pacific Lutheran University in Washington State. She is participating in the IES Language and Area Studies program in Berlin. Double-majoring in German Language and Theatre Studies, Bristol is eager to immerse herself in the German culture and work on her language proficiency. She also hopes to explore the city’s performing arts scene, participating wherever and whenever she can. |
 Christina Wright |
Christina is a sophomore at Wagner College in Staten Island and is extremely excited to be participating in the IES Study Abroad program in Barcelona, Spain. She is currently a psychology major, but is keeping an open mind to the fact that studying in Barcelona may bring about new interests and passions for her to pursue. |
 Roxanne Zerbonia |
Roxanne is a junior at Wake Forest University and is participating in the IES Abroad Buenos Aires program. She is a Business major and an International Studies minor. She chose to study in Buenos Aires for its unique blend of traditional and modern cultures and is excited to experience all that Argentina has to offer. |
 Yanshuo Zhang |
Lush landscapes, sentimental Celtic music, and mostly importantly, a tradition of excellence in literature–what better reasons do you need to spend a semester at Trinity College in Ireland, as an English/Communication major? Excited to explore all these joys in the Emerald Isle, Yanshuo Zhang, a junior-to-be at the College of St. Catherine, is busy packing more than her clothings, but also her dreams of letters! |
