Educational Changes

The most obvious impact this summer experience had on my education plan is the course I took at the University of Sussex.  I planned on taking a history course, fulfilling one of the requirements for my US

The Code of Hammurabi. One of the earliest written law codes, circa 1790 B.C. Taken in the Louvre in Paris, France on July 19, 2009.

History major.  Due to a lack of interest, however, that summer course was cancelled.  I decided to take “Democracy, Dynamism and Discontent: A Comparative Introduction to European Politics.”  This change in schedule forced me to take an additional history course this semester. I am now taking a course on the history of Chinese medicine.

As my triple major of computer engineering, mathematics, and history indicate, I have quite varied interests and am often pulled in multiple directions.  With law school as my next step, I have the opportunity to specialize in one of many areas, be it intellectual property, tax, or healthcare law.  This experience was the second time I have been abroad, and the first time I have been abroad for more than one week. Additionally, as the first time studying abroad, this has given me a taste of international studies and shown me that I can be a part of a global community.  Now, as an international student, international law has risen from an obscure possibility, to the forefront of my future educational goals.

Know Thyself

My host Kathrin, her sister Kim (left), my friend Natalie, and me. Having only an evening to spend with Kathrin, we shared dinner and spoke for hours. Taken on June 7, 2009 in Interlaken, Switzerland.

Most of my life, I have thought of myself as an introvert.  My father, a man who I have intense respect for, is introverted, and, as the dominant male role model in my life, I desired to be like him.  Additionally, I have typically been very shy around people that I did not know.  All of this changed in my trip about Europe.

As I said in the last post, I traveled for five weeks before going to the University of Sussex.  In these travels, as much as I could, I stayed with hosts found through the nonprofit CouchSurfing.org.   The Couch Surfing hosts were almost unanimously friendly, lively, and genuinely interested in meeting new people.  Having limited time with each host and fueled by their desire to get to know me, I soon learned how to meet a new person, share a part of myself, and connect with them in just a day or two.

It was not until I made it to the University of Sussex that I truly learned how far I came.  When I first came to Vanderbilt it took me almost a month before making what can be considered good friends.  On my second day at the University of Sussex, I found a group of people who quickly became friends.  I now know that I am an extrovert and am quite the extrovert.

Out to lunch with new friends who helped make Sussex the right choice. Taken July 12, 2009 in Cambridge, UK.

Why Sussex

As a college student, when meeting new people, there are a certain set of questions you expect, what school do you go to?, what year are you?, what is your major?, what are your plans after graduation?  As a student at the International Summer School at the University of Sussex, one question always arose, why Sussex? I hope to answer that question for you.

As an engineering student, it is much more difficult for me to study abroad as compared to my peers in Arts and Science.  The first two years are very structured and higher classes have prerequisites, with many classes offered only once a year.  Because of this, I knew that the summer stipend was my opportunity to study abroad.  With that decided, I needed to find out where.

In my travels I went to Paris and Corsica. Here I am with my host Lucille and friend Natalie. I did manage to survive and thrive with Lucille's help. Taken on May 21, 2009 at Notre Dame de Paris.

Like many native English speakers, I have abysmal linguistic skills.  I took French from a four-year old preschool class through sophomore year of high school, but maintain only a survival level of French. As such, my choices were limited to programs that spoke English. While these are available the world over, English speaking countries offered a wider variety of courses of study.  As a history double major, I was interested in taking a history class while abroad to see different approaches to teaching and understanding history.  Finally, I took was taking this study abroad experience as a chance to explore Europe.  I wanted to spend five weeks before my program began to backpack across as much of Europe as possible.

These requirements led me to the University of Sussex.  Offering several history class options, I decided on a course entitled “Bastille to Berlin: Representations of Revolution.” This course was to examine the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, and the Fall of Communism in Europe in 1989,

My host Bernhild, friend Natalie, andMe at the Brandenberg Gate which has been a symbol of German and Berlin unity since the fall of Communism in Europe in 1989. Taken June 14, 2009 in Berlin, Germany.

and how they have been viewed and presented over time.  The dates for this course were from late June until late July, giving me plenty of time travel with a  few weeks at home in the beginning and end of summer.  In short, I chose the University of Sussex because it was the perfect fit.