Study Abroad!

Who knew that grocery shopping could be a confusing experience? It was for Anna Yahn, a fifth-year senior at West Virginia University, on her first trip to a London store. She and her roommate were waiting for the clerk to finish their groceries—not realizing that it was the customers, not the clerks, who were expected to bag the goods.

Learning how to handle groceries and other local customs are part of the fun and frustrations of studying in a foreign country. Are you considering studying abroad in college?

Your options
There are several types of studying-abroad programs. You could choose a program in which you take classes with professors from your home school, classes at a foreign university, classes in English or in your host country’s language. You can choose programs that provide housing in dorms, apartments, hostels or with host families—or programs for which you find your own apartment. You can study abroad for a few weeks, a semester, a year or more.

About 80 percent of students who study abroad go on programs run by their colleges, says Mary Dwyer, president of the Institute for the International Education of Students (IES), a company that organizes study-abroad programs for a consortium of 145 schools. The other 20 percent, Dwyer says, go abroad with third-party providers.

Staying safe
Open Doors, a survey published by the Institute of International Education, reports an increase in the number of students choosing to study abroad in the last few years—even after 9/11. Chances are that you’ll be safe while abroad if you follow your usual precautions, like not walking alone at night and exuding confidence so you don’t appear vulnerable.

“We advise our students to modify their dress so they’re not so apparently dressed like Americans,” Dwyer recommends to students concerned about anti-American sentiment. “Also, we advise them not to hang out at typically American places, like the Hard Rock Café.”

Look for a study-abroad program that comes with on-site staff to help you in times of trouble. You should have access to program staff who can help if you have an emergency, loose a passport or have trouble adjusting.

Blending in
Part of Dwyer’s reason for advising not to hang out in American tourist hot spots is because, as a student studying abroad, you should be trying to fit in to the culture you’re visiting—not just sticking to your own.

“The whole thing is to blend in with the culture, because that’s what (you’re) there for in the first place,” says Dwyer.

At the all-girls boarding school where Brieanne Turchetti, now a senior at the University of Rochester (UR), lived for the first half of a semester-long program in central Italy, most of the Italian students went home on weekends. That left her with only Americans to hang out with—a trend that didn’t help her feel very blended in with her host country. For the second half of the semester, Turchetti moved in with an Italian family in order to get a better handle on the culture.

“The best part about being with the family was that I felt totally immersed in the culture,” she says.

Yahn, who studied at American InterContinental University while in London, stayed in an apartment with other AIU students. Living in an apartment helped her become immersed in the culture, Yahn says. She had to buy her own food, take the Tube (London’s subway system) to class and find her way around town.

“You were thrown right into it, which was good,” she says. “Go get yourself lost, and find your way back. It helps you learn your way around!”

Getting credit
The first part of the phrase “studying abroad” is studying, so be prepared to spend a chunk of your time taking classes while abroad.

“The classes I took there were UR classes,” Turchetti says. “We all had the same four classes: Italian history, Italian art history, Italian culture and Italian language.” All but Turchetti’s Italian language class were taught in English by Americans.

Meet with your college adviser and study-abroad office to get confirmation, in writing, of how much credit you’ll receive for your classes abroad. Ask what minimum GPA you must earn for the credit to transfer to your home college.

“There are also programs out there that are purely work-related, and those usually don’t bear any academic credit,” Dwyer cautions.

Home sweet home
The students who say they’ve had the most positive study-abroad experiences, Dwyer says, have usually done one of three things: lived with a host family, interned while abroad or taken classes at a foreign university.

No matter how enriching your time abroad was, however, you’re going to feel a shock when you get back to the States.

“The culture shock was worse coming home than going there,” Turchetti says. “I felt like for four months I lived the life of someone that didn’t really exist. I didn’t have a job, I would never have these professors again, I was the daughter this family didn’t really have, and I was scared to come back to my world of realities.”

You might feel like your friends don’t appreciate all the exotic places you visited or want to hear all your stories. But you will be glad you studied abroad!

Going abroad?
Don’t forget these necessities:
Passport. Check out http://travel.state.gov for information about getting or updating your passport.
International Student Identity Card. This card can get you discounts on air travel, tourist spots and more. Think of it as a college ID card that works in any country.
Visit www.statravel.com for details.
Immunizations. Find out what, if any, immunizations are needed for your study-abroad program’s host country at www.cdc.gov/travel.
Birth certificate. Can’t find your birth certificate? Visit www.cdc.gov/nchs to get the address for the Vital Statistics Office nearest you.

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