From brushing up on calculus to learning skateboarding, Ruby Iverson (Modern & Medieval Languages 2023) is enjoying the flexibility to shape her Year Abroad in accordance with her interests – no matter how eclectic.
“I took it upon myself last year to plan a three-way Year Abroad, which is not very common,” says Ruby, who from July to December was living and studying in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and is now living and working in Belgium. In April, she will move again to spend five months working in Mexico City.
“When I started at 91ֱ, I enrolled to do French and Spanish; then, in my second year, I took an introductory Portuguese paper. I asked my Director of Studies if it would be possible for me to go to Brazil or a Portuguese-speaking country during my Year Abroad, and she said it was possible if it was something I was aspiring to do.
“I’ve taken the term ‘Year Abroad’ very literally: I used all of my second-year summer and will be using the next summer before my fourth year, staying in Mexico until September."
While in Rio, Ruby studied at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), where she took courses in Portuguese, education and calculus. Three years after completing her A-Level in mathematics, picking up the subject again was a welcome challenge.
“I’ve always liked doing a mixture of things,” she says. “But I hadn't done maths since 2023, and it was all in Portuguese and I was the only person in the class who was not a native speaker. I had to do a group presentation every month in Portuguese for half an hour, and there were a lot of assessments.
“It was good to be using the other side of my brain. It was a nice challenge, and it’s a fun party story I will always have!”
Nor has Ruby’s broadening of her knowledge and skillset been confined to her academic work. In Rio, she embraced every opportunity to gain new experiences while also deepening her knowledge of Brazil and the Portuguese language.
“Learning as much as possible has been a really great part of my Year Abroad,” she says. “The cost of living in Rio is a lot lower than in the UK, so I was trying to learn lots of new things. I’ve been learning to play the bass, to do analogue photography, and to skateboard – which all my friends think is the funniest thing ever.
“All these things were great ways of getting more involved in the city and the culture because all the lessons were in Portuguese and were in different parts of Rio. The Year Abroad builds up your cultural empathy and understanding of other people.
“You also learn so many life skills. My friends and I feel like this is our first proper year of adulthood because we’ve had to learn how to deal with landlords and sign contracts – and not even in our native language. You gain so much in terms of self-reflection, personal growth and being independent in a new place.
“I learned so much about myself and what I enjoy in Rio, and I hope to replicate that now in Belgium, and later in Mexico.”
Until early April, Ruby will be working part-time in Belgium’s National Film Archive and part-time in a children’s theatre. From April until September, she will be undertaking work in human resources, current affairs and public events at the British Chamber of Commerce in Mexico.
Ruby adds: “I’m using the Year Abroad to trial run some of the industries I’d be interested in going into. I’m going to explore a bit of everything and see what I really enjoy and what makes me want to wake up in the morning.
“And I definitely want to explore working or living abroad after I graduate.”
