“The world is your classroom,” according to the Global Education Office page on the Keene State College website.

Three students who are from out of the country are currently living out this quote.

A student named Samira Barar, who is majoring in Theatre, described her decision to study abroad as “easy to transition” because of the people located in the Global Education Office. She is from Ireland and attends the National University of Ireland Galway.

She said she loves the food here and her favorite thing on campus is the DC because they don’t have meal plans where she is from.

She said that, although she loves the food here, she is homesick.

One of the many things she misses is “the nightlife and my friends and being able to drink without it being illegal.” She said she would recommend this experience to someone else because she “never felt alone in trying to figure everything out.”

Another student named Imogen Sutherland was also excited to be attending KSC.

She is from Derby, Ireland and is also majoring in Theatre. One of her major

Contributed Photo/ Global Education Facebook Page

reasons for studying abroad is to travel. She said, “I’ve always loved travelling, so having the opportunity to see a different culture in such a unique way was really something I couldn’t miss out on.”

Although Sutherland is happy to be here, she said she misses her college friends.

“They were my family away from home,” she said. She continued to say  that seeing them together on Facebook upsets her because she isn’t with them.

Sutherland said she wants to come back to the United States in the future, especially New Hampshire because “it’s such a stunning state.”

She also said she wants to stay longer and possibly travel all over America.

A student named Valentine Gouy said she found the experience difficult for many reasons, one of these being the language barrier.

She is from France and said she feels that because of the language barrier it was hard “at first, but it’s cool now.”

Gouy is currently majoring in Psychology and, back in her home country, attends University Catholique of Lille. The one thing she said she misses about not being back home is the food, especially “cheese and wine.” Gouy         chose to study abroad because she “wanted to discover another country, another way of life and traditions.” She also stated that she loves meeting new people and that this was also another way to do so.  All three students said they enjoy the campus for its lakes and lots of green and all want to come back.

Gouy said that she “hopes to go to Colombia as an exchange student in two years.” The same student also describes the experience as “intense” and “amazing.” All three girls said they would recommend this experience to someone else because it would open people’s mind and that Keene is a beautiful town to be in.

Lisa Russo can be contacted at lrusso@kscequinox.com