Studying abroad can be one of the most memorable experiences one can have while attending university. Each person will have experiences and memories that are completely unique to their travels. Because of this, we asked fellow Seattle University students to share their most memorable experiences while abroad in hopes of creating a space where we can appreciate and connect over our travels. We hope that this may inspire some of you to study abroad, too!
“Sir, let’s take a selfie!” Photo taken at the Hamara School in Panjim, Goa.
“My most memorable experience has been being invited to dinner at my friend Utpal’s apartment where we cooked together, talked, and of course danced. What a great night!”
Nicky Manlove | Junior | Goa, India
This photo was taken at Gletch a ski resort on a Glacier in the Austrian Alps. Mother nature continued to amaze, giving me the most unbelievable snowboarding experience of my life.
“The most surreal moment I experienced abroad had to be riding a camel through the African Sahara desert of Morocco at sunset. I was giddy with excitement.”
Natalie Lucey | Junior | Florence, Italy
Photo taken in the Buen Retiro Park in Madrid, Spain.
“My most memorable experience was attending mass with Pope Francis at the Vatican during a weekend trip to Rome.”
Derek Allen | Senior | Madrid, Spain
I was really lucky to get to travel and study with one of my best friends (Robert Duggan) this summer! This is my fave candid shot of us on a boat tour in Frankfurt, Germany. We were pretty happy to be there.
“I will never forget was being in Paris for Pride Weekend. Even though we all spoke different languages, there was such a strong sense of community as we celebrated and marched in Paris Pride Parade together!”
Keegan Tasker | Junior | Frankfurt, Germany; Luxembourg City, Luxembourg; Brussels, Belgium; Amsterdam, Netherlan (Albers EU Study Tour 2015)
This is a picture of my host brother, Yovani, and I in his living room. Yovani is 26, an incredible artist, and paralyzed. He paints holding the paintbrush in his mouth.
“The most memorable moment for me while I was abroad was going star-gazing with my host family out in rural El Salvador and seeing more stars than I had ever seen in my life.”
Claire Rawson | Junior | El Salvador
I took this photo while I was having lunch at the Van Gogh cafe in Arles.
“My fondest memory is meeting a French history student from Strasbourg and letting him take me to his favorite spots around the city. It showed me how the locals view and appreciate their city as opposed to just the typical tourist perspective.”
Joseph Delos Reyes | Junior | France (Paris, Dinan, Cadouin, Cahors, Lyon, Arles, Marseilles, and Saverne)
Photo was taken at a secluded beach in Inis Mór, which is one of Ireland’s Aran Islands.
“The most memorable experience I had while abroad was a ten mile bike ride along the coast of Inis Mór, a very quiet and stunning island off of the western coast of mainland Ireland.”
Craig Jaffe | Junior | Galway, Ireland
“My study group and I were on a two-week Silk Road excursion, and we were taking a nine-hour bus ride on an off-road to a yurt village in the mountains. We came upon this ditch in road, so the bus driver tried to drive over it, but the front of the bus nosedived into this trench. He backed out, and made the 15 or so students on the first bus get off and throw rocks into the hole until he could drive over it. Problem-solving at its finest.”
Ashley Hampton | Junior | The Beijing Center for Chinese Studies
Edinburgh from the lower part of Arthur’s Seat
“Leading a roaring rendition of Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer in a tiny pub in the Scottish Highlands, packed pub with Scotsmen and American students.”
Ian Hajnosz| Junior | London
Cinque Terre, Italy
“My most memorable moment during my four months abroad was hiking during the off-season in Cinque Terre, Italy; never will I forget the amazing views accompanied by Lindsay almost dying from the heat.”
Robert Duggan | Junior | Madrid, Spain
Photo taken in San Sebastián, Spain
“My favorite memory from my study abroad was definitely a weekend my friends and I went to Barcelona.”
Riley Jackson | Junior | Spain
This was one of my favorite pictures taken in Krka National Park, Croatia.
“The most memorable experience I had abroad was meeting both the mother and grandmother of my tour guide of Dracula’s Castle in Romania. His grandmother told me, ‘you are so young and full of life and seeing you come from so far to visit my country gives me life and happiness.’”
Seth Walker | Junior | Rome, Italy
Photo was taken at a restaurant about a mile away from the subject of the photo. The photo is of a church that sits on top of a pyramid, a clear symbol of the dominance Spaniards had over the land. This historical site is going to be modified and possibly destroyed to be made into a mall by the state of Puebla.
“My most memorable experience while abroad was going back home after sunrise from my first night out and entering through the front door only to see my host father looking directly at me and giggling from the kitchen table.”
Manuel Sigüenza | Senior | Puebla, México
Watching the sun set on the Alhambra with my best friend Megan on one of our last days in Spain.
“It’s hard to choose just one, but some of my best memories are speaking Spanish with my host family at dinner as well as traveling through Spain with new best friends and appreciating the history and culture of the country. ”
Anya Vindla | Junior | Granada, Spain
Photo taken at the top of the beautiful Bukchon Hanok Village
“My most memorable experience was visiting and exploring the Bukchon Hanok Village, which is a small part of Seoul that has still preserved its historical roots. This village hosts around 900 traditional houses (that people still live in). From the top, you can see the line of traditional houses which eventually leads to the Seoul city skyline in the background—there’s a sort of beauty in that contradiction of old and new.”
April Jingco | Junior | Seoul, South Korea
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