charmelin's blog

On the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots, on Sunday, June 28, 1970, organizers planned Christopher Street Liberation Day with the first gay pride march. Over 50 years, we have seen waves of greater tolerance, not only in New York and across the USA, but also in many countries abroad. New laws over the last 20 years have made Europe the most LGBTQ-friendly region and a welcoming group of countries for study abroad students.

Not every country has seen the shifts in attitude we've witnessed in Norway and Ireland and the Netherlands, but far-flung countries like Argentina, New Zealand, and even Mexico City have become more friendly destinations for our students in recent years.

The US Dept of State is "moving to Phase 1 of resuming routine passport operations at eleven passport agencies and centers on Thursday, June 11." All Western passport agencies and centers remain shuttered.

The US Dept of State "continue[s] to experience significant delays in passport processing, as staff are unable to process applications from home due to strict standards for security and privacy protection for customers." They hope to "gradually resume normal operations and address COVID-19 related processing delays."

A simple chart showing that which has caused study abroad advisors like me to lose sleep and be anxious.

Maybe you're applying to study abroad for spring 2021. Maybe you have already been accepted to study abroad fall 2020. Maybe you just need a passport to visit family over the summer.

If you missed the spring 2021 deadline on April 23 and think you want to apply, we have deadline extensions post for you. View by country or by deadline date.

While we practice "social distancing" we can continue to dream and plan for Study Abroad. Looking to spring 2021 in Ireland today…

In this age of social distancing, let's try some new traditions. Let's do an old-school analogy exercise. Maybe you can trade a completed puzzle for a prize…

April 22 is Earth Day. While we are mostly sheltering in place, you can honor Earth Day on its 50th anniversary by looking forward to celebrating with green and sustainable study abroad opportunities that might help you make a difference in the world around you.

While we practice "social distancing" we can continue to dream and plan for Study Abroad. Looking to spring 2021 in Hong Kong today…