Study abroad broadens the horizons of Yale-NUS students

Many Yale-NUS College students go on study abroad programmes to gain valuable learning experiences and immerse themselves in the culture of another country. Last semester, as pandemic restrictions started to ease around the world, three Yale-NUS students ventured out and found a community away from home in institutions around the globe.

For Lucas Puah (Class of 2023), an Anthropology major, his semester abroad at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) in Copenhagen, Denmark gave him a valuable opportunity to learn about and experience different world cultures.

Lucas Puah studied at the University of Copenhagen last semester. Image provided by Lucas.

At UCPH, Lucas took a course in Medical Anthropology and was able to learn from leading experts in the field. He also did a methodology course in Anthropology with fieldwork in a Danish Folk High School.

“This is a tremendous opportunity where I get to practise my ethnographic skills and learn more about Danish culture in an immersive way,” Lucas said.

The semester abroad experience also allowed Lucas to find a community in the student body in Copenhagen. As a bar volunteer at the Studenterhuset (translated as The Student House in Danish), Lucas served coffee and drinks to UCPH affiliates that span multiple departments and four separate campuses.

“The social and academic life in Copenhagen fosters a nice balance between work and play, and in the process, you are encouraged to try new things and share new experiences with people,” Lucas said. “Overall, this has opened my eyes to different lifestyles and has even helped me better consider what I want to do after I graduate.”

Similarly, Jane Lee (Class of 2023) chose Europe as her study abroad destination. She studied at the University of Glasgow (UofG) in Scotland, United Kingdom. She said that Scotland appealed to her for its active efforts in environmental sustainability, especially after the recent Conference of the Parties (COP) convention held in Glasgow.

Jane Lee on a farm stay with her host in Sweden during her semester abroad experience. Image provided by Jane.

An avid cyclist, Jane found that joining the co-curricular sports clubs in the University of Glasgow allowed her to marry her love for travel with opportunities to meet new people.

“The cycling club trains three times a week, and outside of training, they have social events. Essentially, every single day of the week, you meet someone new from the team. I really enjoyed how the clubs are structured to include time for socialising, so that I get to interact more closely with the other members,” said Jane.

Jane’s biggest takeaway from the semester abroad experience was the opportunity to experience Europe and learn about the rich histories, international relations, and cultures. Jane’s initial impression of a monolithic European continent has changed significantly.

“I’ve learned to appreciate the relationships between different countries. It helps to inform my understanding of the culture here,” she said.

Other than Lucas and Jane who both went to Europe, Engie Wong (Class of 2023) did her semester abroad at Georgetown University in Qatar (GUQ). She decided to study in the Middle East as she wanted to further her interest in the Arabic language and linguistics.

Engie Wong on her semester abroad programme in Education City, Qatar. Image provided by Engie.

A Global Affairs major, Engie said. “I had been taking beginner Arabic at the NUS Centre for Language Studies, but I had limited exposure to day-to-day use of the language and local dialects, so I hoped that living in Doha and learning Arabic from GUQ’s impressive Arabic teaching faculty would help me further progress in the Arabic language.”

But this semester abroad experience brought Engie some challenges. As Engie was the only exchange student at GUQ this semester, this experience required her to adapt rapidly on her own without much of an orientation or built-in support network.

During Engie’s mid-term break, she had a chance to go on a tour of Northern Qatar and explored Zubarah Fort (where one could see Bahrain on the horizon), Al Jumail, an abandoned fishing village, Al Ruwais, the northernmost city in Qatar. Engie shared that the trip has allowed her to experience Qatar’s history, especially in contrast to the ways in which Doha is portrayed as a new, modern, cosmopolitan city.

“The short trip taught me a lot about the multiplicity of narratives embedded within Qatar’s complex national identity.”

“It’s also been a humbling experience, as coming to Qatar made me realise just how little I know about cultures outside of my own, and how invaluable an experiential learning is for one’s personal growth,” she said. “Taking classes and meeting people here has changed the way I think about language and national identity, as some new experiences feel oddly familiar, and Doha and Singapore appear to be quite similar in many ways.”