Joris Carolus Flandro
Map of Iceland, 1630.
Osher Sheet Map Collection
https://oshermaps.org/map/386.0001
“I was supposed to go on a study abroad trip to Iceland. This trip was supposed to be an extension of learning in the classroom environment. By applying skills learned in a short intensive course in the classroom, it was a mixture of an educational trip to complete the project as well as exploring Iceland for its beauty. After being sent back home for the rest of the semester, not knowing what was to come for the upcoming year, I was not prepared for what was ahead of me. Receiving the news about a year ago about the cancelation of my trip was expected, but it also made me realize that whatever was happening with the unknown virus was more serious than I anticipated.
I was excited to travel and explore somewhere new. Iceland was a ‘bucket list’ country for me, and I was going to be able to travel there while also gaining invaluable experience through hands-on learning. As I sat home for the first couple of months as COVID-19 was officially named and precautions and stricter quarantine restrictions were put in place, I think I yearned for the sense of freedom and exploration that naturally happened in our lives. The mental block of not being able to go out everyday for a hike, class, or food and being stuck in one place for months made me realize how lucky we are to be able to travel and explore and experience cultures around the world we call Earth.” -USM Student
Christopher Saxton, John Norton & George Bishop
Oxford, generally accompanied by Oxfordshyre which was once part of Dobunorum, 1637.
Michie Sheet Map Collection
https://oshermaps.org/map/135.0001
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AND
Alden Press
A Day in Oxford, 1979
Richard Auletta Collection
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AND
Alden & Co.
Alden’s Oxford Guide, 1931
Richard Auletta Collection
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“I was going to study abroad at Oxford in England but when they decided to hold virtual classes, I decided that I’d rather attend college in person in Maine.” -Isabella
Herman Van Loon & Nicolas de Fer
The Plan of the City, and the University of Paris. Capital of the Kingdom of France…, 1705.
Osher Sheet Map Collection
https://oshermaps.org/map/574.0001
AND
Clara E. Laughlin
So You’re Going to Paris! 1934
Richard Auletta Collection
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“I was meant to study abroad in Paris this semester, but due to COVID it was soon to be canceled. Ultimately, I made the decision to cancel my plans in order to exercise what little control over my life I had left. It really hurt, because this was a once in a lifetime chance and something I’d been looking forward to for several years. It was a loss, both personal and academic.” -Sophie Wilson
“In March of 2020, I had just applied to study abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, in their intensive language acquisition program. Before my application could even be processed completely, USM shut down all Study Abroad programs with the promise that they might happen the next semester. That of course didn’t happen either. As an art history student, the chance to study in Paris would have been invaluable. Not only would I have had access to myriad museums and important architectural landmarks, but gaining proficiency in the French language is a prerequisite for any graduate program within my field of study, and an immersive experience would have hopefully solidified that skill. […] I remain optimistic that someday I’ll make it back to the country that I fell in love with.”
-Robin
Horace Sutton
Footloose in France, 1948
Richard Auletta Collection
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Marcel Monmarché
Provence, 1922
Richard Auletta Collection
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“Toward the end of the Spring 2020 semester, I was an English and Francophone Studies double-major, planning to spend the fall 2020 semester studying abroad in a smaller city in the south of France, Aix-en-Provence, through a program offered by Wellesley College. In Aix-en-Provence, I would have elected a homestay option to stay with a local host family. I was excited at the prospect of going to Aix because I wanted to go somewhere in France that would offer a dual feeling of both urbanity and community. After declaring my major, I was becoming very interested in the intersections and differences between Anglophone and Francophone literary worlds; because Aix-en-Provence has such a vibrant arts and culture scene and because I felt that being at Aix-Marseille Université as well as near Nice and Lyon would align so well with my interests, I felt this was the perfect choice.
When COVID-19 started escalating, I pretty much immediately canceled my plans. […] I often can’t help but wonder what would have happened if I’d gone to France last semester; even though it’s been really difficult in other ways, being home all this time absolutely meant that I had the space to reflect so thoroughly that I changed my entire trajectory. I haven’t been happier about what I’m doing since I started college in 2018!” -Micaela Simone
J. Henshall, W.B. Clarke
Vienna (Wien)
Found in: Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Great Britain), Maps of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. Vol. II., 1833.
Osher Atlas Collection
https://oshermaps.org/map/7608.0212
AND
Verlag Carl Ueberreuter
Austria with an appendix for motorists, 1951
Richard Auletta Collection
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“My travel plans included a two-week travel course (late May to early June 2020) in Vienna that was focused on music history and theory. […] These cancelled plans impacted my life personally because it was the first time I was planning on hitting the milestone of my first plane ride ever and first trip outside of the United States. Education- wise, it would have also been great to build upon what I had learned about the general and musical history of Vienna all semester.”
-Nicole McFarland
John Cary
A New Map of China, from the latest Authorities, 1801.
Howard Sheet Map Collection
https://oshermaps.org/map/122.0001
AND
Archie Bell
Spell of China, 1917
Richard Auletta Collection
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“I had high hopes of studying abroad in Beijing, China, last fall, but in March of 2020 there were already [COVID-19] cases and precautions being dealt out and I knew travel plans were going to be impossible for the rest of the year. I almost applied, but chose not to. I lost the opportunity to study Chinese in person and I lost the opportunity to travel abroad.” -Carey
Jacques Nicolas Bellin
Map of the Island of Antigua…, in Le Petit Atlas Maritime Collection Of Maps And Plans Of The Four Parts Of The World. In Five Volumes, 1764.
Smith Atlas Collection
https://oshermaps.org/map/1959.0180
AND
Lawrence and Sylvia Martin
The Standard Guide to the Carribean, 1960
Richard Auletta Collection
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AND
George W. Seaton
Let’s Go to the West Indies, 1938
Richard Auletta Collection
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“The cancellation [of my field school] took away a huge opportunity for me to learn and experience a new environment .” -Liz Trumbley
Philip Briggs
Northern Tanzania, 2006
Richard Auletta Collection
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AND
Alan Magary and Kerstin Fraser
East Africa: A Travel Guide, 1975
Richard Auletta Collection
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“I had planned on studying abroad in Zanzibar, where I would have studied coastal ecology and natural resource management. I imagined that study abroad would become something incredibly integral to my Bowdoin college experience. Frequently, I would hear college graduates say ‘my biggest regret in college was not going abroad.’ Unfortunately, I don’t have a choice during my college experience.” -Andrew
