UChicago Study Abroad

To inspire students just beginning their Summer International Travel Grant experiences, we’re posting a throwback to last summer!

SITG Dispatch from Jogja, Indonesia (2025)

Selamat Pagi! I’m Toby Chan (Class of 2026), studying economics and psychology at UChicago. Thanks to the FLAG grant, I spent my summer in the city of Yogyakarta picking up Indonesian. I was interested in learning Indonesian out of an interest in South East Asia, and was drawn to the concept of Gotong Royong and the communal emphasis of Javanese culture.

Living with a host family was a really meaningful experience that I got to be a part of. For two months, I lived with Bapak Prijo and Ibu Dian in Kotagede, an old neighborhood of Jogja (as the city is affectionately nicknamed). Bapak Prijo, who used to work in the cultural office in Jogja, is a big wayang (leather puppet) aficionado. And Ibu Dian, who’s quite active in her gamelan group, recently organized a record-breaking event featuring the most people wearing kebayas (traditional outfits) at one time on the steps of Prambanan (Hindu temple and world heritage site). I also had a host sister, Aurora, from the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies, who was on an exchange program for her masters.

Jogja is kind of like the Boston of Indonesia. It’s the center of Javanese culture, as well as a huge college town. As a result, it has a particular mixture of history and a unique youth culture. My day mostly consisted of taking Indonesian classes from my gurus at Wisma Bahasa. After that, I would have noodles and pick up a susu jahe (ginger milk) from my favorite bakmie joint—Bakmie Mbah Gito’s. Then I would meet up with friends, foreign and local, and wander different parts of town. Typical sidequests include watching a wayang puppet show from dusk till dawn, doing the Masangin—a ritual of walking blindfolded through two large banyan trees in the southern square, joining senam—morning neighborhood exercises, and doing community service by painting roads and erecting flags in preparation for Indonesian independence day.

It’s been bagus sekali (very nice) having this degree of immersion while practicing my Indonesian skills, and again and again I’ve been overwhelmed by the hospitality and kindness that people have shown me on this opposite side of the world (the antipode of much of the United States is in the Indian Ocean below Indonesia!). Thank you so much to everyone I met in Jogja and the FLAG grant for making this possible.

Read Toby’s full SITG dispatch on our website: https://study-abroad.uchicago.edu/student-voices/sitg-dispatch-jogja-indonesia

A look back at photos taken by students during study abroad!

#UChicago2026 Abroad A look back at photos taken by UChicago Class of 2026 students during study abroad

Watch a playlist of the winning videos from our Study Abroad in 60 Seconds Contest!

2025–26 Prize-Winning Videos

First Prize: “A Typical Afternoon in Paris” by Ciara Kinney and Lena Tran, both in the Class of 2027 (Paris: Psychology)

Second Prize: “What I Expected” by Harlie Grenead, Class of 2027 (Seoul: Yonsei University Exchange Program)

Third Prize: “‘Little Bliss’: Moments in China” by Zeran Fei, Class of 2026 (Beijing: East Asia, Then and Now)

Honorable Mention: “Between Skyscrapers and Temples” by Erika Lenhardt, Class of 2027 (Hong Kong: Economics)

Congratulations to all of the winners!

A Typical Afternoon in Paris by Ciara Kinney and Lena Tran, both in the Class of 2027 / First Prize in the 2025–26 Study Abroad in 60 Seconds Video Contest / In Paris, enough can happen ...

Learn more about RLL Photo Prizes: https://rll.uchicago.edu/rll-photo-prize

Earlier this month, the Barcelona Civ in Spanish program enjoyed an excursion to see two iconic works of Catalan modernism, Casa Amatller and Casa Milà (“La Pedrera”). Thank you to graduate assistant Jenni Monroy for taking these photos of students on the rooftop of Casa Milà, designed by the architect Antoni Gaudí and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

Enjoy another SITG Dispatch – from Vienna – ahead of the Feb. 2 deadline for 2026 Summer International Travel Grant applications!

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SITG Dispatch from Vienna by Julia Volpp (Summer 2025)

Hallo! I’m Julia, a rising second-year at UChicago majoring in Public Policy Studies. Thanks to a Foreign Language Acquisition Grant, I’m studying German this summer at the University of Vienna Sprachenzentrum in Austria.

On a typical day, I start my morning with a latte from my favorite coffee shop near the University of Vienna’s main campus. I have class all morning, where I learn new vocabulary and grammar as I practice speaking, listening, reading, and writing in German. I typically grab lunch with friends from my course in the vicinity of our campus, then I head to my internship.

I am interning at the Austrian Institute for International Affairs, a foreign policy-focused think tank in Vienna. This summer, I’ve aided with research on economic security and the critical raw materials trade, in addition to writing my own article. I’ve loved the opportunity to be able to experience what working at a think tank looks like, and I’ve really enjoyed learning so much more about a field that I find fascinating.

After finishing work, I try to visit a new museum or another site in Vienna as often as possible. Then I head back to my apartment in a student dormitory, cook dinner either by myself or with friends, and complete my German homework for the night. I have loved living in Vienna – it’s a beautiful city with such kind, welcoming people – and the experience has made me examine my own experiences from a more global perspective.

I exit my comfort zone constantly when chatting with storeworkers or practicing conversing with people from my class in German during our break. I’ve picked up many phrases that I now automatically use in conversation without thinking about it.

My German is far from perfect, but I’m amazed that after only one year I’ve come so far. I’m very excited to continue to study German at UChicago and build upon what I learned this summer.
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Read the full dispatch on our website: https://study-abroad.uchicago.edu/student-voices/sitg-dispatch-vienna

Learn more about summer grants: https://study-abroad.uchicago.edu/sitg