Each year, nearly 700 Northwestern students study abroad in 45 countries across the globe. We’d like to introduce you to five students who will be blogging about their experiences abroad Fall Quarter 2008. Follow along with their adventures, and find out what’s it’s really like to leave the Northwestern campus to study — and, uh, not study — abroad.

Laura Ashbaugh | Amman, Jordan | Aug. 24 to Dec. 19
Class of 2010, Journalism and International Studies

Ahlan wa Sahlan! I’ll be your correspondent in Amman, Jordan, for the next four months. The Middle East is obviously very politically and culturally complex, and I won’t pretend to be an expert on it. But I want to show you the Middle East beyond its belly dancers and suicide bombers. As the first of the bloggers to leave, I’m already en route to Jordan, where I’ll live with a family. Stay tuned to hear what it’s like for young women in a conservative Muslim county, how Ramadan is observed in a modern context, and how the refugees that have flooded in from Palestine, and now Iraq, have impacted Jordan. Along the way, expect to hear stories about my struggles with Arabic and adjustment to life with a Muslim family. I’ll also share with you my photos and videos of the places I travel, including Egypt, Turkey, Israel and rural Jordan. As Arabs say before they embark on any endeavor, “Bismillah!”

• Read Laura’s first post.

Megan Friedman | London, England | Sept. 14 to Dec. 13
Class of 2010, Journalism and Film and Media Studies

Hi! My name’s Megan and I’ll be serving as your correspondent from jolly old England. I’ll be attending Goldsmiths College, University of London, where I’ll learn to write and speak English. (I’m hoping the language barrier isn’t too much of a hassle.) I’d go on about what I hope, expect and fear, but right now I’m too depressed after hearing I won’t be in London for the new Harry Potter movie after all. Stay tuned as I start to use the word “brilliant” too often, develop a taste for Earl Grey and find out that every British male is sadly not a clone of Colin Firth or David Beckham.

• Read Megan’s first post.

Alexandra Hunstein | Munich, Germany | Aug. 28 to August 2009
Class of 2010, Communication Studies and German

I have a one-way plane ticket to Munich, and I look forward to navigating my way through an entirely new culture and school system. I’ll be studying at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München for a full year. Just like my German classmates, I will be living in a “spacious” dorm room (or so my program description claims), located in the largest student residential area in all of Germany. And I’ll be sharing all of my exciting and likely awkward experiences with all of you.

• Read Alex’s first post.

Marisa Johnson | Madrid, Spain | Sept. 11 to Dec. 19
Class of 2010, History and International Studies

Hey guys! I’m Marisa: a figure-skating, history-loving, Spanglish-speaking, beach bumming Southern Californian goofball, heading to Madrid in a couple of weeks to begin my Fall Quarter abroad. I’m totally stoked to practice my atrocious Spanish on the streets and at my homestay, and to explore all of the diverse regions of beautiful España. I’ll admit I’m pretty nervous, too, but that should dissipate by the time I touch down and start getting settled in. My hope is that I can give you guys an honest, unique and helpful insider’s look at my study abroad adventures so you can decide if the experience is for you. Or, at the very least, I’d like you to be amused. I’ll be traveling all over Spain, hitting up some other European hotspots, crossing the Mediterranean to Morocco, and discovering everything the vibrant city of Madrid has to offer, so keep reading and enjoy living vicariously through me! I mean, seriously, not everyone has such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity… Just kidding. ¡Hasta luego!

• Read Marisa’s first post.
  

Sara Schmidt | Paris, France | Sept. 1 to Dec. 13
Class of 2010, Journalism and (potentially) English

Hello and bonjour. I’m Sara, a Medill junior enrolled in the Public Health program in Paris for the fall of 2008. I have no experience in the medical field but do have experience in French; unfortunately for me (and probably my GPA) this program is not French intensive. Already sounds like it’s going to be an interesting quarter, right? While I hope to share everything about my great French endeavor — from mastering the metro to tackling Parisian nightlife and everything in between — I really just have one goal: to be your eyes and ears while I’m abroad. So whether you’re reading this in the comfort of Norris as the Chicago weather starts to turn from “sort of bad” to “unbearable,” or while you’re on a foreign adventure of your own, you can get a taste of what it’s like to be a twenty-something college student discovering the City of Lights.

• Read Sara’s first post.