Seniors Return From Winter Term Abroad

Exonians traveled across the ocean to spend winter term outside of Exeter, New Hampshire, learning languages alongside native speakers. After a competitive application process, these students earned the opportunity to represent Exeter abroad and study various languages in their respective countries of origin. Engaged in a different environment, students enjoyed their time indulging in the culture, language and food of their respective countries beyond the limitation of the classroom. SpainSeniors who have studied Spanish for over two years had the opportunity to attend high school at Colegio Santa Maria La Blanca. The program was held in a rural part of Spain outside of Madrid, and students lived with host families. On their way to school, the students enjoyed the countryside’s natural scenes right outside of their windows. “There were sheep grazing less than a mile from my house,” senior Alexandra van Dijkum said. However, the town where the students lived, Montecarmelo, was only five miles away from the city of Madrid and gave the students an opportunity to take part in activities in both rural and urban Spain.Exonians also traveled to other cities outside of the Madrid region, such as Barcelona, to experience the different cultures within Spain. “Our excursions to Barcelona were also really interesting, as our hotel was right in front of the Catalunyan protest,” said senior Alexandra van Dijkum. The trip showed the students day-to-day life in Spain, giving them deeper insight into the country than just a regular tour would have.While studying abroad in Spain, the students had the opportunity to learn about a wide range of everyday topics while improving their Spanish conversational skills. After constantly using the language throughout the term, students noticed a significant improvement in their reading, writing and speaking abilities. “My Spanish definitely improved and it was really cool to learn different subjects such as anatomy and immunology in Spanish,” she said. “I definitely learned many new vocabulary words.” van Dijkum expressed her appreciation for the opportunity that Exeter gave her to explore her passions off-campus. “It was great to meet so many people [and] be able to explore so many different cities and settings outside the classroom.” ItalyThe Rome, Italy study abroad program had an entirely different set of goals. Instead of aiming for an increased fluency in the language, the program teaches students more about ancient texts in the context of the writer’s surroundings. To accomplish this, the Exonians studied two classical languages, Latin and Greek. Additionally, they took topography classes so that they could learn about the natural setting that is often featured in Latin prose and poetry. Senior Gillian Quinto recalled that a highlight of her term was the group’s trip to Naples, a city in southern Italy. “We spent the entire week engaging with sites around Naples, such as Pompeii, Herculaneum and Cuma,” Quinto said. “We didn’t have to worry about homework. It was a really pure learning experience where no one was motivated by anything other than interest in the subject.” Besides learning about the geographical makeup of modern Italy, the students studied the impact of their chosen foreign language in the context of Italy’s and the wider world’s history. “The most important thing I learned [this past term] was the scope and importance classics has had on the world.” Quinto said. Although classical languages are rarely spoken in the modern day world, students were able to see the lasting effects of these languages through their term abroad.GermanyElsewhere in Europe, students studying German stayed in Göttingen, Germany, and attended a local school. The language immersion introduced the students to more modern German terms which would be hard to understand if one had never visited the country. “I learned a bunch of new words and phrases, and I got to observe how Germans speak and the slang they use in their speech,” senior Lizzie Madamidola said.The students supplemented their in-class learning with tours of cities across the country such as Berlin and Hamburg. The students were able to examine Germany’s fractured history at the sites of important events. For example, students learned how the government of Germany worked when they visited the Bundestag (federal parliament) of Germany when the group toured Berlin. In addition to excursions to modern sites, there were also many other visits to historic monuments and culturally important landmarks of Germany. “Going to the Berlin Wall and the Holocaust Memorial was one of the highlights of my trip,” Madamidola said.The tour included a few recreational trips as well. Students took advantage of the proximity of Germany to world-class skiing opportunities and went on a ski trip to Austria. “It was a great experience because I never skied before,” Madamidola said. Overall, the students enjoyed their time in Germany and the bonds they created with each other. “Winter term in Germany was absolutely the best time of my life. I had some really great experiences and I am counting down the days until I can go back,” senior Jeremy Xu said. “I recommend the Germany program for anyone remotely interested in it. Anyone would come back deeply in love with the country, its people and the language.”