Notes on Taking Things for Granted from the Depths of Study Abroad

This morning, I woke up tired, which I feel is a pretty universally relatable experience to the St. Lawrence student body archetype in the middle of February. I then put on shorts and a t-shirt because it was rather hot for anything else. I took my daily anti-malaria medication, ate some French toast that my host mom had prepared, checked the weather (26°C/84°F and completely sunny, which is normal for equatorial east Africa at this time of year), and made plans to go visit the markets with my host brother Joel. None of those things, I’d expect, are as relatable to the baseline SLU student. It’s easy to forget the Canton cold and wearing mittens to walk to the pub while I’m putting in a frankly abysmal effort to tan, a month and change deep into the semester abroad.  

We’ve all always heard the classic allusions to the SLU bubble and the middle-of-nowhere complex of St. Lawrence. Something that I expected from Kenya was a quick and seamless pop of that bubble with such a new environment and an unfamiliar means of education. Something I didn’t expect was to be so wrong that I wrote an article in The Hill. 

To properly begin making my point, it’s a hard school to not at least have mutual friends with any random group of 24 people, and it’s even harder not to have enough in common with that group of 24 to make friends in what feels like minutes. I got on a plane here knowing no one on the program, but I got off the plane with new friends and inside jokes, and that was just the plane ride here. To continue making my point, if there’s one thing that SLU does well, it’s interpersonal connection. That has extended way beyond where I expected it to, and not to be the quintessential abroad student, but the bonds made so far in the program have been insanely impactful and, I hope with all my heart, long lasting. To finish making my point, I would like to highlight the incredible staff and associates of the Kenya Semester Program and the educational opportunity presented with abroad. The element of experiential learning is an amazing addition to any college experience, and the program is one of the most well-oiled machines I’ve come across in my time at SLU. 

I’ll end by continuing to beat a long dead horse of cliché. We’re a small school in a small bubble in the middle of nowhere. To some extent, I think that’s fair, but on another level, the sphere of SLU influence is gargantuan, and should never be underestimated.