What we English speakers call sea lions Spanish speakers call lobos marinos. Lobo means wolf. For the last couple of days I’ve been unsuccessfully trying to rationalize this in my sunburnt head. When they first saw those chubby mustachioed sea beasts, how did they settle on wolf? In all fairness they don’t really look like lions either. If it were up to me I’d officially change their name to sea bears, or better yet sea puppy dogs.

International Programs invites you to attend "Hawks Like Me," a study abroad information session.  This event will take place on Thursday, November 16, 2017, from 5:00-6:30 p.m. in the IMU Minnesota Room #347.

When I left campus, I decided I wanted to take a taxi back to my apartment. I asked my RA how to say the address and then I was off!

If you have heard Michael Buble’s Home, you will understand what this blog is about. These past couple weeks have been full of ups and downs. I am now just settling into a routine and trying to keep my living space clean. I go to campus every day except for Monday, which is when I do my laundry.

My roommate’s name is Tin Lin. She attends Boston College and majors in Applied Psychology and Human Development. I thought I would give you a different perspective on study abroad through someone else’s experience.

The city of Valparaíso has gone duck-crazy. A week before the arrival of our enormous yellow visitor I read the newspaper headlines and laughed, “The Worlds Largest Duck to Arrive in October.” My host mom Emma and her longtime friend and roommate Raul chuckled at the idea of the duck around the dinner table as we ceremoniously enjoyed our post-dinner snack, “once.”

This month, I had the honor to attend a reception at the ambassador's residence, organized by the US-China Strong Foundation and Project Pengyou. The event was an opportunity to mingle with fellow students and educators who are living and studying abroad in China. Regarding Sino-Chinese relations, Ambassador Branstad has reiterated his commitment to his friendship with Chinese president Xi Jinping and the well-established connection between Iowa and Hebei.

Brenda and Joe Ewing of Iowa City raised their kids to be curious about the world. Discussions around the dinner table included current events and what they might mean for Iowa. Family vacations exposed them to great museums and unfamiliar cities, and some of the travel was international. When all five Ewing children attended the University of Iowa, they pursued majors suited to their individual goals and ambitions, but the common thread was that each one studied abroad, some more than once.

Destiny Foster says she’ll always remember leaving the study abroad office and calling her mom to tell her they were going to “need to sell some candy bars or something” because she was going to Spain over the summer. “There was something that told me I needed this experience,” she said. “It was a calling and I had to answer it. I’m so glad I did because here I am, months later, filling you in on my unforgettable journey abroad.” 

UI students who are interested in studying abroad in Germany are invited to attend an information session on The Academic Year in Freiburg program, on Monday, November 6, from 4-5 p.m. in 315 Phillips Hall. 

The first week abroad is filled with different emotions. Every person is going to feel different emotions at different times throughout the week. I remember reading an article about culture shock a week before I departed for Thessaloniki. I was surprised that it did not hit me right away! It took a while, but it did occur while in my first week of classes. 

Are you interested in learning about earning UI credit while spending eight weeks during the summer interning full-time in the field of your choice in Dublin? UI students are invited to attend an information session with IES Abroad, featuring guest speaker Stephen McMahon, faculty member at IES Internships.