Gettysburg philosophy students are encouraged to study abroad.  Our majors and minors study at campuses spanning the globe, bringing back with them broader perspectives that deepen classroom discussion and their own thoughts. 

 

Hilary Landfried 

During my fall semester in Heidelberg, Germany, I got to advance my German skills along with stumbling upon some family history. Along with studying at the university and learning about German culture, I also taught English at a local elementary school to six- and seven- year olds. These children were truly the highlight of my stay. In the spring, I traveled to Nepal and Bhutan. There I studied Tibetan and Himalayan peoples. After spending a month with a Tibetan refugee family in Nepal and another month traveling across Bhutan, I returned to Katmandu and researched the flourishing expat community there.  

During a trip to Berlin, a group of friends and I visited Checkpoint Charlie, one of the Berlin Wall's major cross-points

Boudha Stupa. While I was living with my host family, my host mother and I would wake up around 5:00am and walk Kora. This is circumambulation around the stupa in order to receive good merit for our future lives

Prayer flags on a mountain top in Thimpu, Bhutan. In Tibetan, prayer flags are literally called lungta, which means "wind horse." Buddhists believe that every time the wind blows, it sweeps the prayers off of the flags and into the universe.

Turns out the Landfried family comes from Heidelberg, a little fact I learned when all the locals knew my family name. This photo is from the old student prison at the university. Students used to serve jail time for their indiscretions. Quickly, imprisonment turned into the mark of distinction, and students would often leave their marks on the wall. Perhaps one of my ancestors was once imprisoned?

 Olivia Price

The Red Sea is a popular destination for both foreign and local tourists alike.	This is downtown Cairo at rush hour. Traffic is generally bad after 2pm. In the distance you can see Cairo Tower.
This is downtown Cairo at night. Cairo is actually a relatively dark city, with very few working street lights outside of the headlights of cars, but mosques like this one in the background were often brilliantly lit, often times entire buildings covered in neon lights.	This is the Baha'i gardens in Haifa. These gardens amplify Baha'i philosophy in not only the beauty and symmetry of the garden, but the gardens own transition from order to chaos and vice versa. Through the tended garden baths in the middle that gradually grow more wild as they stretch farther out along the mountain side reflecting the diversity and balance of their faith.

Katya Ankudinov

Overall, my year abroad was absolutely incredible. I started with a power tour of all the ancient Greek sites followed by a semester filled with great food, wine, and company which always seems to follow a blonde in the land of Dante. Somehow I managed to not die of angst while doing Kierkegaard research in his home town of Copenhagen starting in the height of winter. I traveled all over Europe and met some of the most interesting people that culminated in one of the most extravagant and enlightening experiences of my life.

the tallest tower in Copenhagen and portrays classic Danish weather-cold and dreary	Class trip to Istanbul, which of course was when they had their first snowfall of the year
Soren Kierkegaard's grave	a picture of my boyfriend and I in Tuscany on a day trip to the beach

Sam Brundrett

My name is Sam Brundrett and for the spring semester I studied in Nantes, the fifth largest city in France.  It is located in the north western region of Brittany about 30 miles from the Atlantic ocean.  I stayed with a very traditional French family and attended the University of Nantes.  Only about 10 percent of the population speaks English, so learning the language was not only what I wanted to do, but it was absolutely necessary for any social interaction.    Living in France was also very convenient when it came to traveling, seeing that other European countries are relatively very close.  Flights are inexpensive and travel is very much encouraged.  I highly advise anyone interested in other cultures to go abroad and especially anyone who wants to learn French to go to Nantes.  The experience is invaluable. 

This picture was taken at the Chateau Chambord, just outside Nantes, France	This is taken from a tram line, in Nantes, looking out of the Edre river at the Nantes Cathedral
This is the Nantes Cathedral, one of the largest in France	Above is the Stade de Beaujoire, the stadium for the soccer club FC Nantes

 Gabrielle Cossolini

I spent my spring 2011 semester in Copenhagen, Denmark. I attended classes at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS) and was enrolled in their Communications and Mass Media program. I travelled to London, England for a week long study tour discussing global communication strategies. I was also lucky enough to be able to spend my two-week spring break travelling around Spain, during which time I visited Granada, Seville, Barcelona,Madrid, Ronda, Malaga, and Ibiza. While in Denmark, I lived with a host family about 25 minutes outside of the city. Copenhagen is such a beautiful and friendly city, I truly enjoyed my time there and hope to return one day.

In Stockhilm, Sweden	In Stockholm, Sweden
“Copenhagen (where I studied abroad for the spring 2011 term)”	London (Parliament)

Brian Engelsma

While studying abroad I encountered new opportunities to bring my learning outside of the class room. While taking courses on Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, and European Politics I was able to discover a new academic setting. Similarly, outside of class I was able to integrate myself into a Danish family through living with a host family, discover Europe through generous amounts of travel, and spend my days surrounded by a new culture. My time abroad has only further piqued an interest in the world around me and the many unique cultures that are waiting to be explored.

A view from the Pena Palace in the historic Portuguese city of Sintra	Hammershus, the largest castle in Northern Europe
The Tower of Belem in Lisbon, launching point of many Portuguese ships of discovery	A statue of Lenin in park of Communist era statues outside of Budapest

Shelby Glass

Through the SIT Sustainability and Environmental action program, I was able to do some first hand exploring of the east coast of Australia. We went everywhere from Sydney to Tasmania and met all sorts of people from logging protesters, to Peter Pedals (a man who vows to leave no trace behind). We also had a two week homestay period in which I lived on an intentional community with two parents and four kids under the age of ten. Furthermore, another asset of SIT is their five week, independent project all students are expected to finish. I spent my five weeks in-between the cities of Melbourne and Brisbane, writing a children's book based on environmental ethics. When all was done, I wrote and illustrated Something is Everything. My time in Australia was anything but ordinary, and certainly fulfilled the "once in a lifetime experience," I was hoping to have during my junior year abroad.

	Reading from a book I made in the Brisbane Library.

Santosh Nandabalan

The study abroad program in the Netherlands proved to be both a thrilling and extremely enriching experience. The coursework consisted of two months of lectures and Dutch language classes and finally culminated with a research project examining the relationship between notions of 'gender identity' and Dutch 'place'. However, alongside studying philosophy, I was able to truly immerse myself in a very fascinating culture and landscape as I spent my time in Amsterdam with a Dutch family and several other international students. All in all, my time exploring Amsterdam and traveling through Europe opened the doors to different facets of philosophical insight as well as provided me with an experience that will truly stay with me forever. 

This picture depicts the Koninginnedag (Queen’s day) celebration on April 30. Koningineedag is dedicated to celebrating the reign of the queen (currently Queen Beatrix) and derived its date from former Queen Julianna’s birthday. The festivities open up with a many concerts and recreational activities (flea markets, games…) and it is customary for citizens and tourists alike to adorn themselvs with orange clothing and accessories.	This picture was taken at the front of the Rijksmuseum in Museumplien. Behind the famous "I Amsterdam" sign lies the Dutch National Museum-home of Netherlands Art and Culture including works of great painters and sculptors (i.e. Rembrandt)
This photo was taken across the SIT office by the Herengracht canal. Biking was the main form of transportation around Amsterdam.	This picture was taken in Zaanse Schans, the Province of North Holland. It is here that Amsterdam’s eight historic windmills remain.

Evan Singer

My experience abroad may be described as an exploration of relationships; those of language, people and place. I studied in Paris where, though a cosmopolitan city, one needs to possess a certain mastery of French to function in daily life. My entry into a world in which a different language manifests a foreign cultural history was an entirely strange and unfamiliar experience. It was, however, inexpressibly enriching and has left me yearning to master other languages. The people of Paris are, as in any contemporary metropolis, a mixed lot. Those with whom I had extensive contact were, contrary to popular belief about Parisians, kind, patient and helpful. I was amazed by how the members of such a similarly wealthy, industrialized society could go about life, even in its most quotidian aspects, in such fundamentally different ways. My appreciation of this world's diversity was, in so many ways, expanded. With regards to place, I learned to become, at one time, both hyper-aware of the uniqueness of my environment and entirely oblivious to a foreign country which often dissolved into mere, invisible background. I had never before considered the role that city planning may affect social relations. Upon my return to Pennsylvania, I was struck by how, whether imagined or not, the dynamics of social situations are dictated by how one participates, physically and spatially, in a community. Oh, and I also had lots of fun running around Europe with my fellow Gettysburgians, together discovering the cafes, restaurants and youth hostels of Europe. 

My host mother drove me and another student up to Honfleur during the early spring. It is a port town on the coast of Normandy	Fellow philosophy major Dan Lamp and I are in front of the famous Shakespeare and Company in the Latin Quarter of Paris (not far from La Sorbonne). Expatriates like Hemingway, Joyce, Burroughs, Pound and Fitzgerald all spent time there.
Here is a nicely named café in the Marais, a bohemian neighborhood in the east of Paris.  Though this is not one of them, it was not at all uncommon to stumble across cafés which catered to a philosophically-minded clientele (called cafés philosophiques )	This is a tram passing in front of the Gallery Lafayette in Strasbourg during the dark winter months. I spent about a total of two months living in Alsace (of which Strasbourg is the capital). It is famous during the Christmas season for its marché Noel, or Christmas market.