Anita Suen, a Political Science major with a concentration in International Relations and a minor in Chinese Studies, is spending her senior year studying abroad in China at Beijing Normal University during the summer and at Peking University during the academic year. She is a Chinese-American who grew up in San Francisco speaking both Cantonese and English. During her year abroad she will primarily be advancing her Mandarin language skills with hopes of becoming fluent, exploring her Chinese roots, and learning about Chinese society, economics, and politics. During her summer program the EAP office in Beijing organized a field trip to Shandong, the province directly south of Beijing, where she spent four days visiting Jinan, the capital, Tai’an, the city at the base of the Taishan Mountain which she climbed, and Qufu, the home of Confucius. In addition to her studies, Anita has kept up an ambitious travel program, visiting Mutianyu, Xi’an, Chengdu, Jiuzhaigou, and Shanghai. She wrote us an e-mail on the overnight train to Hohhot, Inner Mongolia where she was going to spend a few days in the grasslands and the Gobi Desert, experience sleeping in a yurt, herding sheep, and riding horses and camels. It was a ten-hour ride in an overcrowded train on the way there and the same on the way back with only standing room tickets available. “But, things can always be worse,” Anita wrote, “and it will be a memorable learning experience, and I’m very excited for Inner Mongolia, which was at the top of my list of places to visit in China.”
Stephen Dailing (France, 2012-13)
Stephen Dailing is a Political Science and International Studies major also studying at L’Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris, France. He was drawn to Sciences Po by the yearlong program, which would allow him to fully immerse himself in the French culture, and by the institution’s dedication to the study of social and political sciences. He was originally attracted to this area of study while participating in Model UN and student government. Stephen hopes to become a diplomat either with the United Nations or for the US State Department. He writes that he loves “the mix of cultures and ideas combined with the practical interests of negotiating….it is a puzzle that constantly shifts in seemingly unpredictable ways due a variety of objective and subjective standards: political, cultural, personal, or simply good or bad luck.” He enjoyed his classes during his first term, and found that the professors expected “more original synthesis of ideas as opposed to regurgitation of facts and concepts” and that the argument style “is a complete inversion from the Anglo-Saxon Style.”
Allie Vogel (France, 2012-13)
Alexandra (Allie) Vogel, an Economic Sociology and Business Marketing major, is studying at L’Institut d’Etudes Politiques (“Sciences Po”) in Paris, France. She grew up in Southern California, is fluent in French and enjoys traveling, design, painting and yoga. She is a student affiliate for The Center for Research on Gender in the Professions and is working on a research project titled “The Sport of Beauty – Investigating the Lure and Economics of Beauty Pageants” which examines the cultural and economic aspects of beauty pageants and how well they meet their stated goals of promoting educated, self-confident women. During her first term, one of her classes shot a documentary about a café in Belleville called Aux Folies. Allie writes that “People in Paris really stay in their quartiers or neighborhoods, and Belleville epitomizes this with its’ unique feel.” Prior to beginning coursework in Paris, Allie was able to make a trip to Ireland, where she attended a “red head” festival. During the term she was able to travel to Grenoble and Bordeaux. She lives in the 11th arrondissement sharing an apartment with a French and a Brazilian student. Allie writes that it “is amazing just walking through Paris….especially at night and Sunday mornings when it is calm. It is like walking through a painting.”