Danny Pavitt – Spanish-Immersion in my Own Country (Spanish)

All Student Stories, International Policy and Development

Story written by Danny Pavitt, IPD, ’16

You may consider the question that I initially did: Who goes to Vermont to study Spanish? Well, I can emphatically confirm that Middlebury College turns non-believers into Spanish-speaking believers. For seven weeks, students pledge to speak, eat, dance (salsa, flamenco), socialize, listen, read, write, and hopefully dream in Spanish.

Natalie Cox – Progress in Unlikely Places (French)

All Student Stories, Master of Public Administration

10k in Marseille 2012Story written by Natalie Cox, MPA, ’14

I began learning French as an eighth grader in a small town in Washington State. It was a largely arbitrary decision, in part governed by fantasy of windows to new worlds opening, and the possibility to connect with a large number of new people, previously closed off to a girl from middle-class America.

Peter Soroka – Luckily, I Lost my Luggage (Arabic)

All Student Stories, Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies

peterStory written by Peter Soroka, NPTS, ’14

As I stepped onto the tarmac at Muscat International Airport to begin a summer long Arabic program, I became enveloped by a heavy miasma of humidity. I couldn’t wait to grab my luggage, head to my air-conditioned hotel room, and change into lighter clothing. Little did I know that these simple desires would never come to fruition.

Margarita Colón – Learning about ‘the way of the sword’ (Japanese)

All Student Stories, Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies

Story written by Martarita Colón, NPTS, ’14

I remember the day that I had my first encounter with a piece of Japanese culture. It was a crispy afternoon in my hometown of Dorado, P.R.  I turned on the T.V. set, and that’s when I saw my first peek of what I would later find out that goes by the name of animé. It was a different art and design style that I had never seen before.