EDUCATION ABROAD: PANDEMIC STORIES OU'S PRODIGAL DAUGHTER BY DANIELA KOSNACOVA You ask what is it like to be the only student studying abroad from OU? I know you might think it does not sound like much fun, and you’d be right in most cases. Since we all experienced quarantine, online learning and challenges during the pandemic, I’ll mention the fun parts and the perks of being OU’s one and only, or as my advisor jokingly said, OU’s ’’prodigal’’ daughter. For starters, the Education Abroad office has never responded to my emails faster. At times it felt like I had my own private advisor. What a time . . . Moving on, being the only applicant for CASH study abroad scholarships is not the worst position to be in, either — of course, only after I reminded them of my existence, as the scholarships were all canceled together with the study abroad programs. You might ask if I got lonely or missed my fellow American students being overseas all alone. I honestly didn’t think so until two weeks into September, when I caught myself befriending a young American family from North Carolina in a grocery store. I can safely say that despite being in quarantine for months, I wasn’t really bored. My two semesters of study abroad brought unexpected new friends to my life, made me overcome an impressive number of challenges and let me experience more than enough exciting moments, only under a tiny bit different circumstances. Nonetheless, it was just as unforgettable as any other study abroad that OU will offer in the future. Daniela Kosnacova, a junior from Slovakia majoring in international development and environmental sustainability, studied abroad at the University Clermont Auverge in ClermontFerrand, France, for the 2020 calendar year.
WWW.OU.EDU/CIS • SPRING 2021 • COMPASS: PANDEMIC EDITION
PAGE 9
