Bristol vs. Zagreb (Deaf Studies interest)

Applying to College
1

<p>Has anyone had experience studying abroad at the University of Bristol, or with the SIT program in Croatia/the Balkans? </p>

<p>My situation, in short, is that I’m (academically) interested in Linguistics and Deaf Studies. This makes Bristol perfect: I would take Deaf Studies classes, learn British Sign Language and possibly have a homestay with a Deaf family. However, I have a strong extracurricular interest in Balkan folk culture (folk singing, dance, etc.) which makes going to Croatia attractive, even if the classes would be general history/soc-anth/Croatian language. There would be an opportunity for me to do a month-long independent project, which I could probably do at the Deaf school in Zagreb. However, there is only a homestay of 6-10 weeks and all classes are with other Americans, making the Zagreb program less of an “immersion” experience.</p>

<p>I am trying to decide between these two, leaning towards Bristol at the moment, so any experience, advice or wisdom would be much appreciated. And if anyone knows of other programs that might fit my situation, I’d welcome suggestions. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>This is completely unrelated, but I studied abroad in Budapest and traveled around Europe a bit. Zagreb was my favorite city that I visited. It’s a beautiful city, a beautiful country, and everyone is so friendly!</p>

<p>However, I did study abroad in Budapest with a bunch of students who were also American (since none of us spoke fluent Hungarian). I don’t think this detracted from my experience at all. In fact, it made a lot of sense to be with other people who were interested in the same type of exploration of the city and general region as I was - they made great travel companions, and understood what I was feeling when I felt homesick. And trust me - we still felt very immersed in Hungarian life and culture (especially those who did homestays).</p>

<p>Bristol, though it would be more of an “immersion” experience, is a little less different culturally and linguistically than Zagreb. I’ve been to both cities, and while certainly Bristol is wonderful and different from American cities, it’s still very Western in a way that won’t give you as new a perspective as being in Zagreb would.</p>