Languages

Boola! Boola!

Hopefully everybody had a wonderful time a Bulldog Days! Though the rain was threatening at first, the sun managed to break through eventually and we had a couple of glorious days :)

One thing that probably came up during BDDays as you guys were visiting panels and talking with current students, and something I haven't had the chance to talk about yet, is languages.

So all of you probably know by now that Yale requires all of its students to take at least one semester of a language - and that's only if you are already significantly advanced in a second language.... I already hear many of you groaning - "Languages?! I hate foreign languages! Where's my organic chem textbook....". Then of course there are those of you who are already hepta-lingual. Among the incoming class, you will see a wide spectrum of language ability and interest.

Coming into Yale, I was one of those organic chem lovers (well, physics to be exact) and after having taken 2 years of French in High School decided that I was finished with foreign languages forever (I was one of those everyone should just speak English types...)

To Yale's credit, I was forced to start a new language, or continue French, upon entering. My choice: German. Why? It seemed the most like English and I really, really, liked bratwurst. My lack of enthusiasm, however, quickly turned into a burning passion. I loved German. Despite having class everyday at 9:30 I looked forward to getting up and going to class in the morning and seeing my other 7 classmates, something which was never the case for French in High School. Intro language classes at Yale (first 4 semesters) are taught for an hour everyday, and are focused heavily on developing speaking skills through interaction with your classmates and teachers in a small-classroom environment. Compared with the frustrating rate at which I had learned French in High School, I learned German incredibly quickly (it helps that from day 1 no English was ever used in class).

I ended up spending a portion of that Freshman year summer studying on a Yale fellowship in Freiburg, Germany. Furthermore, I began taking French again at Yale through the intensive language program, in which students have 10 hours a week of class time. I also decided to study abroad in Morocco to start learning Arabic while continuing to progress in French. Next year, I plan to take Intensive Spanish, which along with the fact that I have a Colombian suite-mate, should enable me to gain proficiency in Spanish in a year.

All in all, what I'm trying to say is that learning languages at Yale is unlike learning languages in High School and the vast majority of universities. It's fast, intense, and fun - and it changed me from a language hater, to a language lover.

Summer - what, what?

So, I decided to keep with the seasonal theme - and after spring comes summer!

Not that it's summer in New Haven yet - that would be an ambitious statement - but it;s around the time that everyone begins finalizing their summer plans.

It may seem odd, but for most Yalies, Yale doesn't end with the coming of summer. Rather, the vast majority of students, from Freshman to Juniors (Seniors join the real world), do some sort of a Yale affiliated program or internship during the summer.

These summer experiences range from taking art history classes in Paris, to studying Arabic in Jordan, to working for the US Embassy in Cote D'Ivoire or working for Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong. Many students also spend a portion of their summers in New Haven with paid research positions working with Yale professors.

Over 70% of Yalies study abroad at some point during their time at Yale and since most Yalies can't pass up a semester here on campus, the common choice is to study abroad during the summer. Yale offers literally hundreds of programs across the world for students to choose from, and the approval process is relatively easy. Yale employs a team of study abroad advisers to help you with your choices, plan your itinerary and receive in-country support once there.

The second most popular option for Yalies over the summer is internships. Once again, many Yalies choose to work abroad for the summer. These positions range across a variety of fields - from finance, to law, to NGO work in international development, to journalism. Yale is unique that it offers over 400 domestic and international internships that a reserved solely for Yale students. Many summer opportunities are paid, but for those that aren't, Yale offers generous funding through a variety of grants, financial aid, and fellowships.

To give you an example based off my experiences - I worked the past two summers in London through a program called British Bulldogs. Both times I lived in a group of three apartments with 15 other Yale students for the months of June and July. The first summer I worked as a journalist for the Wall Street Journal, and though I wasn't paid, Yale provided me with a $8000 grant for the summer. Last summer I went back to London and worked for a small hedge fund. During my time in London I got the opportunity to visit Parliament several times, go to two Manchester United soccer matches, and see the queen, to name just a few things.

In addition to my two internships, after Freshman year I spent the month of August on a Yale fellowship in Freiburg, Germany taking intensive German classes. Last summer, I spent the month of August working on a farm near Dijon, France - a placement I found through a Yale contact.

What I'm trying to say is that Yalies do anything and everything during their summers. Yale doesn't end during the school year - the resources and opportunities continue into the summer months.