Surayya DiggsMay 5, 2016
IARD 4960Paper
In Fall 2015, I studied abroad in Switzerland with the School for International Training. The program was on International Studies and Multilateral Diplomacy. In this reflection I will first talk about my experience in Switzerland, then the academics in the program, my time travelling abroad, and finally my advice for those who are interested in going abroad.
For my entire abroad experience I lived in Nyon, Switzerland, a small city outside of Geneva. This town was very quaint. Here, I lived with a host mom who only spoke French (no exaggeration at all) and another girl from my program. I had my own room with a terrace. Everyday she would leave bread and cheese out for breakfast and cook dinner at night. There wasn’t a lot to do in Nyon so my friends and I went to Geneva at nights and on the weekends to go to bars and clubs. One great thing about Europe is that the legal age for everything is 18, so I was able to have a lot of fun.
Like many study abroad programs, the academic rigor was non-existent, especially coming from a school like Cornell. I’m not going to say I didn’t have a lot of work, which I did, but the grading is much easier and it was hard to get below a B+ if you were trying. We also took two excursions, one to Brussels, Belgium and one to Paris, France to visit with international organizations like the European Commission, UNESCO, and the ILO. This was definitely a highlight of my trip. I would say overall, the academics – teachers, presentations, content – were lacking. The one academic aspect that was invaluable was the independent study project (ISP). This was an opportunity to do a 4-week research project (there was no class at this time) on any topic having to do with diplomacy and international relations. I chose to do mine on the Greek debt crisis. Using this experience, I applied to work at the U.S. embassy in Greece and was accepted.
During the ISP and throughout the program, I had a ton of time to travel. Every country in Europe is within hours from each other and usually costs 50 euros or less if you plan ahead. Because of this, I was able to travel to 13 countries during my time in Europe. The most exciting trips I took were to Munich for Oktoberfest and to Venice with my grandfather.
Overall, studying abroad was the most incredible experience of my life. I’ve travelled a lot over the past couple years, but there was something different about studying abroad. All of the people in my program were students studying in the U.S., they were all so insightful and kind and it felt like a family. It was also the freedom of being able to travel wherever I wanted to. Additionally, I didn’t have to pay anymore studying abroad than I would’ve if I was on campus. I would study abroad again in a second if I had the chance. I think it’s essential to everyone’s college experience and I would like to encourage other students at Cornell to go abroad.