Notes from the Study Abroadosphere

“I’ve met people from all over: a guy from Penn State, these two Sig Ep brothers from the University of Oregon, and some really cool people from Clemson,” said Blevins, a political-science major who is taking eight credits at the Universidad de Sevilla.”

Over 170 juniors are studying abroad right now. That’s X% percent of the class of 2013, and if you do the math (which I haven’t), X is a pretty big number, like almost definitely in double digits. That’s a lot of wayward WesKids lurking outside cafes in Paris, monasteries in Bodh Gaya, and storage units on Pearl Street. When you really think about, that means a ton of postcards (snail mail 4 tha win, guys), Blogspots, and wall posts prominently featuring the word “Skype.” Oh, and so many blogs.

Last month we put out a call to all you expatriates scrolling Wesleying in your “Parisian cafe/German bar/Czech spire/Tibetan hut/South African safari jeep/Mid-East kibbutz/Nicaraguan commie village”: send us your blog. Please. Mostly, for whatever reason, we just heard back from the ones in France. (Oh. And Sexty-Five Pearl. Yes, they’re still thriving.)

Click past the jump for a few of the study abroad blogs (abrogs?) we received, which are almost exclusively from France. Click here for some of last year’s delights. And email us (staff<at>wesleying<dot>org) if you still want to be included. It’s not too late.

—THE FRENTERNET: “The Frenternet” is a Tumblr, and it is the present e-home of Eliza Fisher ’13 while she spends the semester in (guess) Paris. Follow Fisher as she finds awesome French chocolates, thanks her mother for the knee socks, and proves that Buffy fandom really is an international sensation. Bicontinental shout-out @ Sexty-Five Pearl. [LINK]

—jesseinparis: Massachusetts-by-way-of-WestCo native Jesse Ross- Silverman ’13 is also spending the fall in Paris through the Vassar-Wesleyan program. (This is him. He lives here.) His blog is filled with wry observation on translation, food (“I’ve yet to have a piece of bread or slice of cheese that I haven’t liked”), and driving (“French drivers seem to have absolutely no sense of solidarité whatsoever”). Plus, action-packed Flickr albums of trips to Giverny (Monet’s home looks pretty much like Monet’s home), the French Senate, and some random river. Note: an everything bagel in Paris is called un bagel de toutes saveurs. [LINK]

—La Vie En Bros: This is the best abroad-blog title I’ve seen in a while. It’s also one of the most entertaining blogs, period. This one’s a joint endeavor: A.I. The Answer (Adam Isaacson ’13) and WhiteSauce Jamie (Jamie Heyward ’13) are chronicling their semesters in Bordeaux and Paris, respectively. La Vie En Bros offers hilarious and sultry accounts of bumming at the beach Arcachon (French for “tourist trap”), being a total pro-bro in the kitchen during a French cooking class, and generally livin’ the Brogeuoise Lifestyle (read: “I’m ballin’ outrageous with no sibs and two old-ass host parents who are in bed as of 9:20pm”). [LINK]

—Galway Girl: Holy crap, someone is actually studying abroad in a place that isn’t France. Galway Girl is the story of Virginia native Sam Melvin ’13 as she navigates the Guinesses and Oysters and Castles of Galway, Ireland. Also featured are 9/11 anniversary reflections from outside America, intense Irish rainbows, and some seriously ominous cliffs. “Galway is apparently the ‘most Irish city’ in the’ country in a very old-world way,” Sam writes, “and Ireland’s most ‘bohemian’ city, which sounds good to me. I’ll let you know if I agree with these googlefacts once I get there.” [LINK]

—Melbourne Australia 2011: Speaking of not-France, Stefan Skripak ’13 is in Australia! And he’s got the Jurassic Park-style kangaroo konquests to prove it. WHOAH. It’s not all Tasmanian hikes and massive gorges, though–don’t miss the “anything but clothes” party action shot. [LINK]