I’ve been having such an amazing time in Berlin. I’ve grown to love this city, and it feels more and more like home each day. Whenever I think I’ve run out of new things to try, I discover more fun activities and cool places to explore. Being here has been a nice change from staying…
To Find a Common Language
Throughout my program in Batumi I would often use the Russian phrase найти общий язык when speaking to people about my adjustment to Georgia, when making new friends, and when seeking understanding with my Georgian host family. Найти общий язык means “to find a common language” and usually people use this phrase when expressing the…
Finishing Strong: A Letter to My Past Self
It’s been almost two months that I have been in Batumi, but the person I was when I stepped off the train six weeks ago was so different from the person packing up her suitcase and confirming her flight back to the United States in just a few days. There has been significant progress towards…
A Week after Wyoming
The Wyoming Field Studies program was one of the greatest experiences I have had in my life. Most of the first few weeks were spent learning about the basics of Western ecology and geology and, interestingly, how modern patterns are a reflection of the deep past. Days and nights spent out on the property were…
Wyoming Spring Creek – A Bittersweet Farewell
I wasn’t supposed to ever go to Wyoming. I had originally signed up for a summer study abroad trip to Ecuador that got cancelled because of a lack of enrollment – and when I found out that the alternative was to go to Wyoming, I was more than a little disappointed. What could I possibly…
My Brackenridge: Sivan Lurie
Throughout my time as a Brackenridge fellow, my understanding of research and scholarly work has changed a lot. I learned more about the wide scope of research and I gained a better understanding of what research looks like in different fields. In addition to this, one of the most important lessons I learned involved troubleshooting….
Brackenridge: Communicating My Research
From our readings about communicating research, I have learned many important strategies centering on talking to a general audience. The first of these strategies involve, avoiding the use of jargon. While developmental psychology is often a little more accessible to understand at face value than biological research for example, I have found that being so…
Brackenridge: My Cohort
When first applying to the Brackenridge Fellowship, I was aware of the emphasis on interdisciplinary work and engagement; however, I was not sure what this would look like in practice within the fellowship. I was really surprised and excited to hear about the cohort system that I am lucky enough to be involved in this…
Wyoming Spring Creek – Final Goodbye
It’s hard to believe I just spent six weeks in Wyoming this summer. The first week of the trip felt like the longest week of my life and then all of a sudden I’m on a plane back to Pennsylvania. We covered so much ground out there (academically and physically) that it’s difficult to really…
Wyoming Concluded: A Letter to My Former Self
Hey girl hey – it’s me! Your future self! And guess what: right now you may be stuck in your hometown, working a retail job and worrying if you picked the right study away opportunity, but I’m here to tell you that you’re in for the summer of a lifetime. After you pack your bags…