Hannah Friedlander

How did studying abroad affect your academic and/or professional career?

When I went abroad I had thought that I had a clear view on what my next steps after college would be. However things have changed in ways I would never have expected. I learned about the research that the University of Auckland does for exercise science. I found a reason for me to come back to New Zealand and immerse myself more into my major in ways I had never knew existed here at Tulane.

How did you explore your hobbies, interests, and passions abroad?

Being a dancer, I took one Maori dance class that immersed me into the culture. I also took classes at different dance studios in the city. There was lots of different food cuisines allowing me to explore and try new foods. Most of all I traveled to places I never even knew existed on this planet from how beautiful they were.

Why would you recommend your respective abroad program or location?

Ifsa was a great program, creating plenty of opportunities for students from different universities to become friends. I also loved that New Zealand was a location people from Tulane usually don't travel to, allowing me to get outside of the Tulane bubble and meet 20 brand new friends from all over the United States.

What should students consider when applying and preparing for their time abroad?

To try and understand that study abroad should be about the location and the new people you can meet. I feel that many students choose to go places because their friends are also going. But I learned it was the best decision to go somewhere many students dont usually end up going.

Did your identity impact your study abroad experience?

I do not think my identity impacted my abroad experience, however I think being abroad allowed me to become more aware of myself and where I see myself going in the future. Traveling halfway across the world alone was a terrifying experience that I found allowed me to grow even more out of comfort zone.

Share a story about a time you experienced cultural immersion.

While I was abroad I was able to take a Pacific Indigenous Dance class. This class was taught by two professors who identified as Maori (the indigenous people who live in New Zealand). Before this class I had no knowledge about Maori culture. Over the semester I was put in situations I was slightly uncomfortable with, but in the end it brought me closer to my class, New Zealand, my family, and the respect and understand of what the land means to us. Maori culture focuses a lot on family and environment. I learned about the myths and stories passed down through families in New Zealand as well and learning about my own family. One cultural difference between being at a primarily Jewish school to a country with a 0.1% Jewish population was slightly strange being Jewish.