By Nabilah Khanam
In the summer of 2017, I attended the BME Galway Summer Program. I spent about two and a half months in the gorgeous city of Galway, Ireland.
Like I said – Galway is gorgeous!
I initially had some trepidation about going on this trip because of the classes I was taking. They were not easy. They were upper-level biomedical engineering classes like Quantum Engineering Physiology Lab. I was worried I would not have the time to enjoy Ireland. Instead, I would be hitting the books all the time. Thankfully, I was wrong!
Yes, it could be grueling Monday through Thursday as we were on a block schedule and stuck in our classes for 6 hours a day. However, we did have three-day weekends that I used to travel.
In England on Platform 9 ¾ having a total Harry Potter Fan Girl moment!
In June alone, every Friday I was traveling! All the while I never bought any schoolwork with me. There was a mutual understanding between my classmates that we all wanted the weekends to ourselves. So, we got any group work done by Thursday night. I prepared for exams and got any homework done during the week as well.
I even went to Portugal for canyoning!
It also helped that when studying abroad, the distractions are minimized. On campus, I am involved in various extracurriculars that I have to attend meetings for, plan events, etc… but while in Ireland I didn’t have any extra commitments. I just had to focus on school and exploring Europe. It was AMAZING!! Since I was in Ireland, I was able to travel all around the country and see the Cliff of Moher, the Aran Islands, and Killiney Hill.
Me at the Cliffs of Moher
I went to Amsterdam and went to one of their main attractions called LOOKOUT. It is a massive swing off a very, very, very tall building but honestly had the best view of Amsterdam.
I have always been a geek of Roman and Greek Mythology, so Italy is a country I’ve always wanted to visit. Italy was just gorgeous!
Finally, as a 21st birthday gift to myself, I went to France and Italy. Seeing some of my favorite sculptures like Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss in the Louvre was breathtaking! Visiting Italy and France was really the cherry on top of this whole study abroad experience.
In Paris, at the Louvre – not a bad birthday present!
Never in a million years would I have thought that I would have gone to all of these countries. I made great bonds with both old and new friends. I am so glad I did not let the fear of taking challenging classes get in my way of having a once in a lifetime experience!
