Penn Abroad Ambassador Mackenzie Mckillip

Program: 

• PGS: Mongolian Civilization: Nomads and Sedentaries

• GRIP: The Laurence Sterne Trust

Ask me about...

• Traveling to a very unique country that not many people travel to.

• Going to a region I had learned about through course readings and struggled to find information outside of the class readings.

• Learning about more obscure topics related to Mongolian culture.

• Traveling to a country by yourself, with no other workers except the two full-time workers at your placement.

• Being in a town with few inhabitants under the age of 40.

• Experiencing a smaller town setting in a GRIP program.

• Being alone for a long period of time, experiencing some struggles while abroad, and coming out as a stronger individual.

My Experience Abroad:

On our trip to Mongolia, we visited lots of historical sites, such as Kharkorum, the capital of the Mongol Empire, and really old Turkic funerary monuments! It was really interesting to see archaeological projects in Mongolia since it is such an arid climate and a lot of organic material is perfectly preserved in museums. From an anthropological standpoint, I loved seeing the contrast between city life and rural life; after all, Mongolia is one of the least densely populated countries in the world, if not the most! I'm also minoring in Environmental Studies and focused my final research paper on environmental policy. They are doing quite well with land and wildlife preservation, but struggle in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar, which is one of the most polluted cities in the world. It serves as an interesting and nuanced example among developing countries.

During my internship in England, I interned at The Shandy Hall museum, which was the home of Reverend Laurence Sterne. It was interesting to see how a historical site is maintained as a museum since I plan to pursue a Museum Studies graduate degree. Most of my work centered around trapping and researching moth species in the gardens, which was a lot of fun! I really enjoy natural history museums, and volunteer/work at one back home, so exploring an entomological approach was very enjoyable.

Other Highlights:

• New food was interesting to try (especially fermented mare's milk)

• Staying in a ger was amazing and cozy under the stars

• The views in the mini-Gobi and the rivers in Kharkorum were breathtaking

• Visiting archaeological stone monuments from the 6th-7th centuries

• Discovering and taking pictures of so many beautiful moth species

• Staying in a 17th-century cottage in the English countryside

• The ability to travel throughout the UK and visit my first roommate in Ireland

• Fossil hunting on the Jurassic Coast

• Bantering with a lot of friendly English people