While Williamstown froze over, a smattering of Ephs spent this Winter Study far away from the Purple Valley ­­— though some in equally unforgiving weather. This year, students at the College were all over the globe: from Austria to Georgia to Japan. To learn more about their experiences, the Record spoke with students currently and recently abroad, as well as faculty that organized and oversaw the trips.

A group of 16 students spent the first two weeks of Winter Study in Austria in a cultural immersion course aptly named “A Taste of Austria.” As the students visited Vienna and Graz, they sampled Austrian wellness fixtures like  spas and baths as well as architectural landmarks and cultural attractions like museums and cafés. 

For Kushal Dhakal ’26, the trip elicited new perspectives on how cultural differences can affect cityscapes — for example, the effects of Vienna’s public transportation system. “Those are the things I took away — how different a society could be if you have those kinds of structures,” he said. “I think everyone should at least apply [to a Winter Study travel course] because it opens up a lot of new things to you.”

The Russian department at the College oversees one of the longer Winter Study trips offered. “Williams in Georgia” is a three-week amalgam of immersion and practical study. Throughout January, eight students have lived and worked in Georgia’s capital city, Tbilisi, led by Professor of Russian Emerita Darra Goldstein. While living in the Caucasus region, students have taken on internships in various fields — some at a local multimedia museum and another at an international relations think tank, which Goldstein said were customized to the students’ interests.

But beyond these formalized programs, students are invited to embrace the local way of life. “I think the most profound thing about it is that the students have homestays,” Goldstein said. “They’re actually living with Georgian families and immersing themselves deeply in a foreign culture.” 

Professor of Russian Julie Cassiday, who has led the Georgia trip in the past, emphasized the significance of Winter Study trips in relation to longer study away programs open to students at the College. “Winter Study travel trips offer opportunities to students who — for whatever reason — either can’t or aren’t willing to leave Williams for study abroad in general,” she said. “It allows students to have the study abroad experience when, perhaps, their major or majors don’t let them go off campus during the semester.” 

A few more time zones away from the Purple Valley, a student-driven research project — “Japan’s Art Market Resurgence” —  has brought two Ephs to the art markets of Japan. Julia Clark ʼ25 and Aidan Slovinski ʼ26 are conducting a series of interviews and gallery visits in Tokyo and Kyoto for the whole month. 

Clark, who is majoring in art history, has spent the month exploring how aesthetic and religious historical trends in Japanese art manifest themselves in contemporary art forms. Her research has examined the transformation of functional art into more expressive, nonfunctional pieces.

Clark, who grew up in Japan, said that the trip — combined with her knowledge from classes at the College — has transformed the way she views the Japanese art she grew up with.

“Yeah, I’ve seen these museums before, but it’s completely different now because I know how to look at art and appreciate it in a different way,” she said about blending the two perspectives.

Slovinski, who is planning to major in art history and economics, is concurrently focusing on the commercial side and history of contemporary art in Japan. Over the last month, he has spoken to a number of gallerists and art dealers who have given him insight into the nuances of Japanese art markets — an opportunity unique to Winter Study travel courses.

“It’s been necessary to be here in person in order to gain any sort of understanding that isn’t very removed and theoretical,” he said. “I think that actually being in Japan for an extended period of time has allowed me to experience and see a lot of the national aesthetic that still prevails today.” 

Though Cassiday was not involved in Clark and Slovinski’s trip, her sentiment about Winter Study travel pertains: “It allows you not only to deepen what you study but also gives you breadth.”