WiE Study Abroad

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Over Spring Break, I was lucky enough to go on the Women in Engineering Study Abroad trip.  Throughout this trip, I took the class Gender in the World, which was an amazing and eye-opening experience. 


Photo of my class and I in Bruges

Belgium

Our first stop on this incredible journey was flying abroad to Belgium.  We stayed in Brussels for three nights.  During our first day in Belgium, we took a walking tour and saw the sites and streets of the city.  Throughout this tour, we visited areas such as the Grand Place of Brussels, the statue Manneken Pis, and even tasted Belgian waffles and fries!  In addition to the walking tour, we also visited one of the largest structures in Belgium, the Atomium.  Originally built for Belgium’s World Exposition in 1958, the Atomium stands at over 330 feet tall and promotes the idea of peaceful atomic research.  

The second day consisted of a day trip to the historic city of Bruges.  We first went on a tour of the city where we saw Love Lake, the Church of Our Lady, and the Belfry Tower.  Our second tour of the day was around the Halve Maan Brewery.  We viewed the brewery’s production process and their famous 2-mile pipeline which transports the fermented drinks to the packaging plant.  The last stop of the day was to a restaurant where we ate Waterzooi, a traditional Flemish stew.  

France

Our third day in Europe, we took the Eurostar train to Paris, France where we stayed for the remainder of the trip.  The first night in Paris, we went to an alumni dinner where our class met Purdue alumni working and living in France.  It was a spectacular experience to see firsthand how Purdue engineers can live abroad and work after graduation.  

The next day consisted of a trip to the Eiffel Tower!  We first went on a river cruise and saw the different sites of Paris.  From there, my class and I went to the Musee D’Orsay, which had many famous Monet and Van Gogh paintings.  After that, we went to the Eiffel Tower to have dinner on the first level.  The engineering of the Eiffel Tower was astounding as the tower was over 1,000 feet tall.  We then took an elevator to the second level; the views from this level were absolutely amazing!  I could see many prominent sites such as Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, and many more. 

During our fourth day in Europe, we went to the Louvre Museum.  At the Louvre, we went on a tour of the paintings in the collection either painted by women or featuring prominent women.  This tour was very eye-opening as it demonstrated women’s roles in the history of France.

Our fifth and final day in Paris was very eventful as we wrapped up our trip in Europe.  On this day, we first visited the catacombs running underneath the streets of Paris.  We then hopped on the train to visit Notre Dame.  Following the fire in 2019, the cathedral is still being rebuilt.  It was interesting to see the inner workings and the construction of the rebuild, which should be wrapping up relatively soon.  Our next stop was the Palais Garnier, which is the popular opera house in Paris.  We viewed the opera house from the Galleries of Lafayette, which gave us an amazing aerial view of the architecture.  The last stop of the day was the Arc de Triomphe, which is a massive stone arch built in 1863.  We wrapped up the day with a farewell dinner to reflect on the amazing trip we just had.

This experience was one that I will never forget.  I learned so many valuable things, met new people, and stepped out of my comfort zone.  I know that I will treasure the lessons I learned for the rest of my life, and apply them throughout my career.

Isa Hollenstein, BME '26
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