Hi! My name is Ezra James Capiral, and I studied abroad in London during the Spring 2020 semester. I’m a Television, Radio & Film major and will be graduating in Spring 2021. My time abroad was nothing short of life-changing. I seriously cannot think of another adjective to describe it, because that word so accurately describes my experience. Even though I was only abroad for a couple of weeks, and was cut short due to the virus outbreak, I made the most of my time abroad and do not regret the time I chose to do so.
What led me to apply for the London program specifically was an utter fascination and curiosity about British culture. I knew language wouldn’t be a barrier, so I took comfort in that fact. However, I knew that living in a different country for an extended amount of time, being that I’ve never left the US in my 20 years of life, would prove some sort of challenge.
Living on my own with no meal plan meant having to buy my own groceries and cook for myself, which in turn would also save money since eating out every day would not be within my budget. Taking public transportation every day to get to class and simply get around London was something I had to learn as well but after only a week or so, the Tube proved very easy to navigate.
Finding the time to incorporate my studies while also having the opportunity to explore the city was also a challenge, as sometimes you can let your excitement get the better of you and cause you to prioritize differently. As I overcame each of these small obstacles, I found myself to feel more comfortable in the new environment, which in turn helped me manage my time better and maximize the productivity of my days. With more free time, I took advantage of the fact that travel to other countries from London would be cheaper than it would be from the US. That took me to Gothenburg, Sweden, for a weekend, where I got to eat plenty of fresh seafood, visit art and history museums, and ride an electric scooter for the very first time! Back in London, I would frequent the V&A museum, various food stops (mostly hot pot), and my favorite, Hyde Park, only a 20-minute walk from my flat.
In terms of academics, I can definitely say I was the most invested in my classes abroad than I have been throughout my time at SU. What I enjoyed most about my course schedule is the fact that at least half of the classes require you to venture outside the classroom, thus allowing learning through cultural immersion and exploration. While some of these field trips were led by the professor, a lot of them actually required you to travel on your own time, gather the information that you learn, and then report to the classroom the next day about your findings. Each day, and each week, I was constantly inspired by the academic material, and how interactive learning was highly encouraged through personal exploration and engaging conversations inside and outside the classroom.
In the future, I definitely plan on going back to London, as well as visit other places within the UK that I was not able to explore yet. There is always so much more to learn and discover, and I cannot wait for what my next adventure has in store for me!
Ezra James Capiral ’21
Syracuse London
Newhouse, TRF
Ciao, my name is John Mazza! I am a junior civil engineering major and studied abroad in Florence in the spring of 2020. The beginning of my abroad experience was incredible because I participated in the 
¡Hola! My name is Miranda Carlo, I am a junior at Syracuse University, majoring in International Relations and I will be graduating in the fall of 2021 semester. I studied abroad during my spring semester of 2020 in a Syracuse Abroad program in Santiago, Chile. I always knew, since high school, that I wanted to study abroad and that is one of the reasons why I chose Syracuse University. After I researched the different programs that Syracuse offers, I was between the World Partner program in Brazil and the Syracuse abroad program in Chile. I was debating between these two because I knew I wanted to go to South America, but the Chile program is completely taught in Spanish and Brazil is in English. I was extremely nervous and not confident at all with my Spanish, but I ultimately chose Chile because I really wanted to learn the language. In addition, this program has many other cool aspects such as the Signature Seminar and the Cuenca Immersion program in Ecuador. In addition, this program works very well with my major, all the classes I took were able to count for my major. I was not only studying cultures and politics that I was interested in but also allowed me to advance my academic progress.
Since my program was cut very short due to COVID-19, the majority of my semester abroad was spent in Cuenca, Ecuador for the immersion program. This part of the program is only required if you do not have all the necessary levels of Spanish completed and, as a sophomore, I knew I wanted to do this program to improve my Spanish for Chile. My cohorts and I took one Spanish class and did so many awesome activities set up by CEDEI (the school name in Ecuador) such as cooking classes, dance classes and long day trips on the weekends, my favorite one was when we hiked a mountain. We all had so much fun and were able to become more confident in using our Spanish.
I truly changed as a person from when I studied abroad. It was the first time I traveled by myself and I had to adapt to a lot of new situations that I have never experienced before. I feel like I have become more independent, less insecure and more confidant that I can handle uncomfortable situations. Overall, I always considered myself a pretty open-minded person who understand all different opinions and aspects of life; however, studying abroad has opened my eyes to so many new, ideas and perspectives that I would never have thought of before. I have never had so much fun learning and becoming a better version of myself.
There were many factors that led me to choose to study abroad in Madrid. I wanted to go to a program by myself (my roommates went to Florence) where I could make new friends and have my own experience. I also wanted to go a country that was warm and in Western Europe, so I could travel around that area more accessibly. Spain happened to check all of those boxes, which made it the perfect place for me to go.