Pre-departure Blog – Fund for Education Abroad

I have less than 48 hours till my trip to Sweden for my semester abroad, and I have yet to finish all of my packing. As last-minute as this may appear, I am confident that everything will eventually be complete, so I continue to sip my cold brew at a nearby coffee shop and think about all the excitement that the anticipated semester will bring.

Hello there, I’m delighted you found your way to my blog. Welcome to the first of many, and I hope you enjoy your visit! My name is Belize Iteriteka, and I am from Phoenix, AZ; however, I am currently enrolled at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. I love my studies as a Biochemistry and Sociology double major, and I’m fascinated by the human body. I aspire to one day conduct my research and work in the medical field.

This entry is my first blog, and I want to use this platform to document my experiences throughout the forthcoming semester in Stockholm, Sweden. Aside from being born outside of the United States (Tanzania – Central East Africa), this is the first time I’ve left the country since I was four years old, much alone on my own. I’m both eager and anxious about what lies ahead. I look forward to documenting my journey, including all of the discoveries and challenges I’ll face while studying in Sweden and its unique culture.

My residential decision was a homestay – in hopes to gain the most out of my experience and fully immerse myself in the culture. I intend to learn common lingo through interaction with the locals, in addition to the beginning Swedish class that I have enrolled in this semester. Even though my core course is Precision Medicine: Tailored Treatment in Clinical Practice, I am looking forward to my bioethics class. I’m particularly inclined to learn more about the ethical aspects of biology, and I hope to challenge myself to compare and contrast the ideas I’m learning in Sweden with those of the United States. I’m optimistic that my curiosity and diverse background will empower me to highlight some of the experience’s unique/hidden gems. This blog is merely the start of my interaction with a foreign country, and I am up for the challenge.