Time Flies When You’re in a PGS Writing Seminar
PGS 076: Science Accessibility in India aka the best writing seminar ever after their Pre-Departure Orientation and Nurse presentations.
PGS: Science Accessibility in India
Charlize, one of the Penn Global Seminar Correspondents, shares her experience abroad during the Spring 2025 semester. Follow along with the group of correspondents on our blog and look out for their images on the @pennabroad Instagram feed.
Back in December when I got the email letting me know that I would be heading to India over spring break, the trip felt like an eternity away. Today, my trip countdown widget on my phone took me aback because the number of days hit the single digits. The realization hit me that I’ll be across the world this very week.
Growing up, I’ve always been a big traveler and knew when I came to Penn that traveling abroad was a must. While it’s not impossible for someone on the pre-med track to study abroad for an entire semester, I knew it would be extremely difficult, and I personally couldn’t see myself making it work. This all changed when I discovered Penn Global Seminars, which allowed me to travel, but not disrupt my coursework planning. I was even more excited when I discovered that there were PGS courses available that fulfilled the writing seminar requirement. One piece of advice I’ve heard from multiple freshmen and upperclassmen is to choose a writing seminar about a topic you are passionate about, because no one likes writing a white paper about something that you don’t care about. With my love for the life sciences as a biology major, I did just that and sent my application to be a part of PGS 076: Science Accessibility in India.
Writing seminar has become one of my favorite classes this semester because of its spontaneity. I never know what I’m going to be walking into. Our icebreakers last a majority of the class, but we don’t complain because we all love getting to know one another. So far, we have read Soil not Oil by Vandana Shiva, which focuses on climate change effects in India. Writing a logical outline for each chapter with new weekly teams made the work fun as we brainstormed silly team names and took team selfies, like when I was part of “Team dark chocolate peanut butter cups.”
Fast forward to now, these past few weeks preparing for midterm exams and writing papers for my classes has been challenging while applying for my visa, scheduling my vaccines for India, and creating a packing list. Not to mention, we’ve started our White Papers so we’re in the midst of peer reviewing our drafts while we pack our suitcases. Last week, we had our Pre-Departure Orientation and Nurse presentations to prepare us for our trip. We all learned to NEVER look any of the street animals in the eyes if we don’t want to contract rabies. We got a longer version of our trip itinerary, which includes trips to Navdanya Biodiversity Farms, the Wildlife Institute of India, and the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities (NIVH). Traveling to these sites in India allows me to interact with different people and cultures. This experience in communication is key for my future goal, participating in medical mission trips as a healthcare worker. Visits to environmental and disability centers will allow me to partake in experiences in research and enrich my understanding of science communication. Because of its cultural significance, I think I am most excited to be able to celebrate Holi at Sukh Saklana Haveli. Since this is my first time in India, I also look forward to seeing all the beautiful landscapes in Dehradun. I’ll be bringing my digital camera and cleaning out my phone camera roll on our 14 hour flight to catch all the moments and memories we make. I absolutely cannot wait to travel this week, and more importantly, share my experience with all of you while I’m abroad and when I come back.
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