Laura Ashbaugh Amman, Jordan

Megan Friedman London, England

Alex Hunstein Munich, Germany

Marisa Johnson Madrid, Spain

Sara Schmidt Paris, France

Laura’s abroad in Amman, Jordan until Dec. 19.

Laura Ashbaugh: Amman, Jordan

Ten weeks into my program, I’ve learned to eat without silverware and dance the “dubka.” I’ve ridden camels, prayed at mosques, lived with a Bedouin family, haggled with street vendors, scrambled up the pyramids, bathed in the Dead Sea and explored underground passages in empty Crusader castles. More importantly, I’ve experienced family life here: watching Arab music videos late at night and eating iftar meals with 40 relatives during Ramadan. Final exams start tomorrow, which is a rude awakening to the fact that I’m more than halfway through my program (our research period begins next week). I’m sad that I’ll be leaving next month since I’ve now started calling Amman “home” and my host family “my family.” I’ve definitely had my moments of frustration and isolation. At one point in September, I started looking on CAESAR to see if I could still register for fall quarter back at NU. Some days, I really do feel like going back to America where there is always hot water, the streets have traffic lanes and I don’t need to frequently consume copious amounts of Pepto Bismol. But I’m glad I’m here. Every day presents a new adventure and challenge, and I definitely will have some amazing stories to tell the grandkids some day. I hope this won’t be my first and last time living in the Middle East, inshahallah.

View selected photos from Laura’s stay in Jordan

Read Laura’s posts from Jordan
Aug. 24: I’m en route!
Aug. 29: Eye contact, hookah and the call to prayer
Aug. 31: Meet the host family (they like Flight of the Conchords?!)
Sept. 2: Top five awkward and amazing moments
Sept. 3: Ramadan Kareem!
Sept. 8: A lamb for dinner, minus the head
Sept. 14: Sept. 11 in the Middle East, with Bush on TV and a night of dancing
Sept. 18: Shoeless and covered: a visit to the mosque
Sept. 25: Top five best moments from the first month
Sept. 26: A sheep’s brain and my own apple pie
Sept. 28: Off to the Badia
Oct. 12: Living with the Bedouin
Oct. 27: A week in Cairo

Megan’s abroad in London, England, until Dec. 13.

Megan Friedman: London, England

It’s weird to realize I’m halfway through with my study abroad experience. So far, I’ve done all the requisite things — I’ve eaten fish and chips multiple times, taken my photo in front of Buckingham Palace and gone to pubs with names as awesome as the Hobgoblin and the Lord Moon of the Mall. One of my favorite memories is walking out of a Tube stop and being immediately confronted with Big Ben. And even though I get to indulge in my tourist side, living in New Cross, a neighborhood about 40 minutes away by bus from Parliament, lets me interact with real Londoners. Though I’m having fun and traveling nonstop, the Goldsmiths campus has some drawbacks — the distance from central London makes it difficult to explore the city, and only freshmen live on campus, limiting my contact with British students my age. Overall, though, I would definitely study abroad again if I had the chance — though I do feel like I’m missing out of all the fun at NU this quarter!

View selected photos from Megan’s stay in England

Read Megan’s posts from England
Sept. 13: Waiting anxiously to go
Sept. 17: Sticking out like a sore (and very American) thumb
Sept. 21: For the love of accents
Sept. 23: Freshman year all over again
Sept. 27: Celebrating my 21st birthday where it’s no big deal
Oct. 1: Essential sightseeing, in picture form
Oct. 6: Tourists, leave the camera at home
Oct. 14: Hamish the Hairy Coo and other Scottish sights
Oct. 16: Thoughts from my fellow Wildcats
Oct. 23: Connecting with family… in Sweden?
Oct. 30: Wait, I take classes?

Alex is abroad in Munich, Germany, until August 2009.

Alex Hunstein: Munich, Germany

The night that I went to the Hofbrau House with one of my new German acquaintances and some of my program friends was definitely a defining experience. Though I get the opportunity to speak with older Germans about their lives on a semi-regular basis, these men from East and West Berlin always seem to stand out. We study the same topics and grammar in every German class that I take in the States, and hearing about the wall, or the Nazis, can honestly get a little old sometimes. But, sitting there drinking a liter of beer in Munich’s most famous beer hall and hearing the men talk about their lives leading up to the division of Berlin, living with the wall and seeing it fall, I remember thinking, “This is why I came to Germany. To hear real stories from real people.” And that is something that could never happen in a classroom. Being here is an exercise in listening more than anything else, and I would go back and repeat that night, just so I could hear their life stories one more time.

View selected photos from Alex’s stay in Germany

Read Alex’s posts from Germany
Aug. 27: All my bags are packed, and I’m ready to go
Aug. 30: Eat your heart out, Chicago Transit Authority
Sept. 1: The chill dorm life of Deutschland
Sept. 3: Kindergarten all over again
Sept. 5: The wonderful world of beer gardens
Sept. 7: Reflections on a first week of beer and nudity… in the parks
Sept. 9: The laundry (mis)adventure
Sept. 13: A day of fairytale castles
Sept. 17: Dancing and drinking in the Hofbrau House
Sept. 21: Oktoberfest is like Dillo Day, but with rules
Sept. 23: Make new friends, but keep the old
Sept. 25: I miss CAESAR. There, I said it
Oct. 5: Walking through history in Berlin
Oct. 5: Nightlife in Berlin
Oct. 8: Witnessing American politics abroad
Oct. 12: City and train hopping through Germany
Oct. 15: How many languages do you speak?
Oct. 19: Octopus cooking and conversation
Oct. 22: The art of not being involved
Oct. 28: Dating auf Deutsch
Nov. 2: The spirit of protest

Marisa’s abroad in Madrid, Spain, until Dec. 19.

Marisa Johnson: Madrid, Spain

I cannot believe it’s already November. But at the same time, I feel like I’ve been here in Madrid forever and that I’m a completely different person from the one who first walked into the Hotel Regina in September, completely disoriented and full of nervous excitement. It’s been such an incredible experience so far, and I have learned so much more than I ever would have learned during fall quarter at NU. Not only have I vastly improved my Spanish, but I’ve also discovered a lot about myself and grown more independent as I’ve learned to navigate a new city and embrace a new culture far away from home. It’s hard to pinpoint my most notable experience because, above all, I have been relishing daily life and the adventures each new day brings. But one of my most notable experiences happened earlier today: I met up with two Spanish friends at a café and spent two hours speaking to them in Spanish and playing Scattergories. At one point, I was so relaxed that I forgot I was even speaking Spanish, and it just flowed. I was saying words I didn’t even know I knew! I realized that not only was I comfortable in my new home, Madrid, but that I had finally become proficient in the language. If given the choice again, I would definitely study abroad and will instantly recommend the experience to anyone hoping to learn more about a different culture, master a language and gain some new perspectives about the world and about yourself.

View selected photos from Marisa’s stay in Spain

Read Marisa’s posts from Spain
Sept. 10: Finally on my way to Spanish-land
Sept. 12: Wishing my orientation schedule was more siesta-friendly
Sept. 15: Days that feel 30 hours long (but at least there are free shots)
Sept. 18: Outside the bubble of sunshine and fiestas
Sept. 23: Adjusting, with the help of delicious cookies
Sept. 25: Adventures in Pilates
Sept. 30: Wishing you a sweet new year
Oct. 6: Birthday getaway to… the developing world?
Oct. 9: Why the Spanish speak only… Spanish
Oct. 15: Sorry Walt, Spain just might be the “happiest place on Earth”
Oct. 21: Tapas, sangria and… internship applications? Oh my!
Oct. 27: My quest for the Holy Grail

Sara’s abroad in Paris, France, until Dec. 13.

Sara Schmidt: Paris, France

With each day it becomes more and more obvious that my time abroad is already over halfway over. I can remember how nervous I was leaving, hoping that I had made the right choice in leaving Evanston behind for a quarter. Being in Paris now, I can’t imagine not studying abroad. While I’m looking forward to November (I’m going to Spain for a week and my boyfriend and mom are both visiting), it’s very bittersweet because I don’t want my time here to come to a close.

While I can’t speak for everyone abroad, I feel I haven’t had just one most memorable moment in Paris. But rather, I continually feel awed and amazed that I’m actually here. Just two days ago, I was walking to school the same way I always walk and it hit me again, that I really live in Paris. I’m not a tourist but a Parisian… temporarily. However, I can’t help but mention (as cliché as this might sound) that the most notable and unexpected part of my study abroad experience has been making the friends that I have here.

Northwestern, while a big school, is quickly isolated. Living up north, down south, Greek or unaffiliated — there are so many communities that by the time you’re a junior, it can be hard to branch out. But the group of us, mostly NU students, have become so close so fast, transcending all those superficial boundaries that exist back in Evanston. I keep thinking about what it’ll be like to not wake up and have pain au chocolat with them each morning, not spend Sundays walking around the Marais together or not scrambling for any free wi-fi we can find.

The nice thing is that while I will miss Paris terribly when I head back to the States in December, pretty much everyone (but my friend Alex — who we are trying to convince to come to Evanston for Dillo Day) is relocating to NU. So whenever I really start to miss Paris, I know there’s a good ten to fifteen people I can call to grab a crêpe with me at Norris and reminisce. And in the mean time, I’m going to soak up as much French-ness in these next six weeks as possible.

View selected photos from Sara’s stay in France

Read Sara’s posts from France
Aug. 30: The final countdown
Sept. 5: So, this is France
Sept. 7: How Americans and the French stack up so far
Sept. 12: Experiencing 9/11 in France
Sept. 12: Finding the Parisian version of the Keg
Sept. 16: Trying to get close to the Pope
Sept. 18: Getting ticketed (and asked for drinks) by the police
Sept. 23: Eating in Nice and visiting Casino Royale
Oct. 4: My trip to London was like going back home
Oct. 4: My search for French internet
Oct. 7: Fashion week isn’t all about fashion
Oct. 12: The “studying” part of studying abroad
Oct. 19: My 15 minutes of fame
Oct. 19: How to spend a Saturday
Oct. 29: Watching rugby, the “gentleman’s sport”