>>> Notes From All Over
MechE Students Pause to Reflect on Their Studies Abroad
in international classrooms, as well as adapting to a new country and a different language. While some of their experiences highlight cultural differences, others— such as staying up all night to prepare for an exam—seem universal.
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“This semester’s exchange program has approximately 250 students from
Europe, Canada, Asia, and the States. It almost feels like freshman year all over again, learning where everyone is from, their majors, and how life is different here than at home. Mechanical engineering is taught in a much different fashion than at Carnegie Mellon. Here, they stress the practical application and design of products. From the get-go, students are placed into design and manufacturing classes. I will return to MechE in the fall with a completely new mindset. I encourage every student to study abroad. It is an experience they will look back on for
the rest of their lives.” — Matthew Hwang, junior studying at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University
“I have been having a great time in all my classes, and I have definitely taken
advantage of my ability to travel. Not having classes on Fridays has allowed me to basically take a trip to a different city every single weekend! I’ve gotten some really nice opportunities to use my French, and I am loving every minute of being here.” — Steven Pepin, sophomore studying at Georgia Tech Lorraine, Metz, France
“While here, I am taking most of my classes in Chinese, which proves
difficult. Not only can I not understand the professor at times, but I also have a hard time keeping up with the reading materials assigned. Taking notes has also been incredibly difficult. However, as hard as it has been academically, the experience of meeting
new people from a completely differ- ent culture has been invaluable. The local students have been very friendly toward us ‘foreigners’ and have gladly showed us around campus and the neighborhood, including a local Karaoke club. It’s not every day that you have the opportunity to live in a foreign country and meet people from a completely different culture. The
experience is extraordinary.” — Huan Qin, sophomore studying at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
“In the past two days, I have slept only four hours.
This was a midterm week, so I had plenty of tests, presentations, reports, and homework sets to keep me up. The most challenging assignment I had by far was to prepare and deliver an eight-minute presentation in French. While my French reading
and comprehension skills are accept- able, my speaking abilities are not where I would like them to be. After my presentation, my professor told me that the best advice she can give me is to simply listen to as much French as possible. She said it’s time to give my
eyes a rest, and train my ears.” — Cecily Sunday, junior studying at Georgia Tech Lorraine, Metz, France
“The scenes and sights are thrilling. For the first time in my life, I have
gotten to see immense buildings of antiquity, such as castles, walls, arches, cathedrals, and aqueducts that are over a thousand years old, completely intact and attracting people from all over the world to marvel at their magnificence. Studying abroad is definitely an expe- rience everyone should try once in their life to broaden their horizons, appreciate their own life, and accept everything a world unlike their own has to offer.”
— Mark Erazo, sophomore studying at St. Louis University, Madrid, Spain•
s study abroad has grown in popularity, MechE students can be found in any part of the world on any given day. Recently some students “wrote home” to share their experiences
CARNEGIE MECH
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