With study abroad programs canceled for nearly two years in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, students heading abroad in 2022 are dealing with the new normal that has accompanied the pandemic, all while adjusting to living in a another place.
Each semester, students can choose to branch out from Ithaca and approach their education from a new perspective: studying abroad in one of Cornell’s 350+ study abroad programs in over 70 countries such as Spain, Denmark, Australia, Italy and South Korea. .
Snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef, skydiving at Mission Beach, watching a light show on Sydney Harbor, and participating in coastal walks are just a few of the experiences Allison Lee ’25 had this summer while studying abroad in Australia .
Lee, an applied economics and management major at the Dyson School of Business, is currently studying abroad at the University of Sydney as part of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Global Fellows Program.
The CALS Global Fellows program places CALS students in a 7-8 week internship or research position “in an international setting.” Students must take a prerequisite course, ALS 2300, and a post required course, ALS 2301, to fulfill program requirements. Students also receive a stipend while abroad to offset living costs during their internship.
Meghan Joon ’23, also an Applied Economics and Management student in the Dyson School of Business, studied abroad in Spain as part of the CIEE: Barcelona, Language and Culture program for the entire Spring 2022 semester.
Joon said she thought Barcelona’s COVID-19 security measures were much more serious than those in the U.S. Because of the pandemic, Barcelona imposed a curfew until mid-February.
Lee said while there were still cases of COVID in the US, it wasn’t as big of a problem in Australia and that the regulations felt similar to those at home.
Safety is another concern for some students traveling abroad.
Kate Wang ’22, who recently graduated from the Nolan School of Hotel Administration, also participated in an educational travel program for her field of study where she participated in the Left Bank Bordeaux Cup, a blind competition for wine tasting in Bordeaux, France in June. .
Like many students, Wang used the program as an opportunity to travel on her own. After completing the program, she left to explore Spain and encountered several obstacles during her journey.
Wang said she and two other Cornell students were staying at an Airbnb in Barcelona when their locked rental property was broken into, resulting in the loss of laptops and other valuables, including some of sentimental value. According to Wang, their Airbnb host was unresponsive and ignored their attempts to contact him about the situation.
Wang said the experience caused her and her friends a “crazy” amount of emotional distress.
“I constantly need to talk to people,” Wang said of her emotions after the incident. “I need people around me so I feel a bit more secure and it’s the same situation with my friends. They just can’t stay in a room by themselves.”
Joon, on the other hand, said that while pickpocketing was a concern during her time abroad, as a woman she felt safer walking around a big city when she was in Spain compared to when she was in America.
“I’m living in New York this summer and I feel less safe on public transportation than I do on the subway in Barcelona,” Joon said. “The infrastructure was much better.”
Lee echoed a similar sentiment.
“I think as a girl and as a young adult, we’re always going to feel some kind of fear for our safety,” Lee said. “But I honestly feel quite safe here [in Australia] where I don’t have to worry so much.”
Joon said she would encourage any Cornell study abroad student to participate in and benefit from a study abroad program.
“I love Cornell and it was really hard for me to leave, but going abroad was one of the best things I did because it really pushed me out of my comfort zone,” Joon said. “I think by the new year you’re able to go back to a place and still call it home.”