Well, it certainly beats your average stroll through Endcliffe Park, doesn’t it? Photo: Caroline Vann Jones
Erica Harrison, who is in fourth year, studied at State University in Yaroslavl’ for part of her year abroad
Accommodation: Lived with a khozyaika (Russian landlady) and her teenage daughter
The year abroad experience: I spent four months studying at the State University in Yaroslavl’ where we had lessons in grammar, translation and Russian media, as well as optional Russian political history seminars that were fascinating.
We had a reading week in which I went to Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as making smaller trips to nearby towns at weekends.
We used to go and watch the local ice hockey team as well as spending a lot of time in pool halls, bars and coffee houses. 24 hour cafes are quite common in Russia and in Yaroslavl’ you can leave a club at 4am and move on to the 24 hour Bowling alley-cum-pizzeria.
A few people had issues with the food (fried pasta, buckwheat porridge and a lot of dill) or their host families (some lived with very strict old babushkas) but I was very lucky and am still in contact with the lovely family I lived with.
Russian students were keen to get to know us and show us around and I felt at home in Yaroslavl’ very quickly.
That’s not to say there weren’t any problems – life in Russia can be difficult (even blinking is difficult at -30˚) and almost every day posed a new linguistic or cultural challenge but I loved it and now even the hard things have become fond memories.
Highlights: Trips to Moscow and St Petersburg; experiencing Russian trains and a real Russian winter.
Lowlights: Russian bureaucracy – no one should have to spend four hours in the library and negotiate with 11 different women just to do some photocopying.
Verdict: As well as obviously helping with my languages it gives you a chance to really get a feel for the country you’ve spent years studying. It sounds clichéd, but you can’t really understand Russia without living there and I hope to go again soon.
Fourth year French student Caroline Vann Jones studied at l’Université de la Réunion for half of her year abroad
Accommodation: University halls of residence on the edge of campus.
The year abroad experience: I initially wasn’t too happy about the year abroad but the six months I spent in La Réunion turned out to be a pretty good substitute for my old university life.
This island is technically classed as France, being an overseas department, but is in the middle of the Indian Ocean, between Madagascar and Mauritius.
In La Réunion, Erasmus students are usually inscribed into a certain faculty and can take pretty much any module within that department.
You can also take modules in sport, so instead of sitting in a three hour geography class, you can spend an afternoon on the beach surfing or scuba diving for the same credits.
Another great thing about the University system in La Réunion is the exams – they are really not taken seriously. During one of my exams, the lecturer said he felt bad for us, so if we just wanted to have a chat with him instead, we could. Most lecturers allow you to take in all your lecture notes too and silence in an exam hall is pretty much unheard of.
When not in classes, you can expect to spend the majority of your time on one of the many beaches, in the mountains or sampling the delights of the Réunionnaise nightlife.
Highlights: Living next to the beach, discovering a totally new culture (or rather a multi-culture – La Réunion is a mix of many, including African and Asian influences, as well as the obvious strong connections to French culture) and a quick trip to Mauritius becoming the norm.
Lowlights: Everything is extortionate because it is imported.
Also, there are a lot of flashers lurking around, which wouldn’t be so bad, but most of them really don’t have anything to show off about.
Verdict: I would do it all over again right now. I don’t think anybody could complain about life on a tropical island!
Third year Chemistry student Luke Parsons is currently on his year abroad studying at the University of Maryland
Accommodation: University halls
The year abroad experience: I chose to take an extra year during my degree and to spend it in the USA. This seemed like an opportunity too good to miss and one that I probably wouldn’t get again.
Already I have travelled around lots of different states and I’m booked to visit the Bahamas and Miami for the infamous Spring Break. America, although huge, has great transport links so travelling has been relatively easy and cheap.
This year has been beneficial too as it has definitely forced me to become more organised and thus more independent.
Furthermore, my university accommodation not only houses Americans but students from all round the world so I have really come in to contact with a variety of cultures, languages and people, making some great friends (for life, I hope) along the way.
Highlights: This year has really opened my eyes to how different the USA and the UK are, and living in Washington DC means that I feel I really am at the heart of the American Dream.
Lowlights: There have been relatively few downsides to my trip but money and the cost of living is one of them. Most detrimentally, American universities are like franchises.
The University of Maryland sells everything with its logo on from t-shirts and hats to tents and clocks. You are strongly encouraged to buy this, and for events like football games, it’s basically mandatory.
Verdict: Despite these minor issues, I would recommend spending a year in America to absolutely everyone – it really is ‘the land of opportunity.’
Josh Gamble, a fourth year French and Hispanic Studies student, spent six months as a teaching assistant in Petrer, Valencia
Accommodation: Flat sharing with a Spanish teacher at the same school.
The year abroad experience: As I did a voluntary teaching assistantship I was able to negotiate a flexible timetable with the school. This allowed me to do a lot of travelling during my time in Spain.
The region itself is beautiful, with coastline, forest and mountains. Being an inland town, Petrer is quite quiet and so most weekends I visited friends in the nearby coastal town Santa Pola and in the capital of the Autonomous Community, Valencia.
In Valencia, the renowned festival Las Fallas is a must-do. Imagine a whole city partying for a week, exploding gunpowder, drinking, parading and burning effigies…
I went to Granada too a few times, gorged myself on the famous free tapas with every drink and went skiing on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada (a mountain range in the south of Spain which has snow even in summer). There was also a five day trip to Ibiza involving all the universities in Spain which I managed to get myself on to, accompanied by over 2000 other students.
Highlights: Being able to travel all over Spain, experiencing the Spanish siesta/fiesta lifestyle, meeting amazing people, the beaches, the tapas and cheap sangria.
Lowlights: Year Abroad Depression (YAD) due to not knowing anyone on arrival, adjusting to a new culture and of course being hung-over from the constant partying.
Verdict: Before I went, I was anxious and didn’t want to leave Sheffield or my friends, but after having done it, I do not regret a thing. Except, maybe, abusing my liver.