"Transformation literally means going beyond your form" - Wayne Dyer, from Brainy Quote.
One easy way to go beyond you form is through travel. Want to do something even more transformative? Don't just travel, but live: study, work, BE in a totally different place and culture. This might not require leaving your home country, but often it does. Many of us have been fortunate enough to experience these things through what many call "study abroad".
This summer, I am hosting a blog series called, Study Abroad, 20 Years Later. My friend Carolyn and I came up with this idea a couple months ago while walking on NYC's High Line. Carolyn, who studied abroad in Mexico during high school and London in college, suggested that, even now, in our 40's (gulp!), some of the lessons we learned studying abroad still influence our lives.
So, in this series, I will post other people's stories about their study abroad experiences, focusing on what they took away that still impacts them today. As a reader, you are welcome to contribute!
As for my own experience, my first official semester abroad was spring of my second year of college (1995), through International Partnership for Service Learning. This program still exists! My academic advisor, a Spanish professor, had told me to go to Spain, but I chose Guayaquil, Ecuador, because it was the most affordable program in a Spanish speaking country. I didn't regret it!
It was pretty much my dream program at the time: I lived with a host family, did volunteer work at a local agency three days a week, and took classes at a "gringo" satellite campus two days a week. On weekends, a friend in the program and I took advantage of the country's small size, traveling all over by bus, train, motorcycle, canoe... you name it. Both of us were determined to improve our Spanish, so we spoke ONLY Spanish, even when it was just us gringas. Thinking back, that was a pretty awesome commitment on our parts, considering we were what, 19 years old?!?!
My service assignment was at a childcare center in a neighborhood of Guayaquil (the area was somewhat poor, but not exactly in the "invasiones"- think favelas). School was out, so there was no formal tutoring or classes going on. I essentially played with kids all day. We would hang out a nearby playground, make arts and crafts, play soccer, whatever. The center's director was a bright, warm-hearted woman I wish I could have gotten to know better.
Now that I teach college students and participate as a faculty advisor for global service learning, I continually ask myself what students are getting out of these experiences. What did I learn 20+ years ago in Ecuador that still impacts me today?
1. Spanish. I could already speak fairly fluently when I arrived, but thanks to my engagement with the kids at the center and my host family, and our "no English" rule, my language proficiency grew by leaps and bounds. There are things you cannot learn in a classroom.
2. How to get information (especially in Latin America). Of course, my experience in Ecuador was before the internet took off and certainly before smart phones. To get information (e.g., What time does the bus leave for Cuenca?), we had to do it the old fashioned way: ask. In many cultures (seemingly Ecuador), people are not eager to say they don't know! Often we had to ask several people to figure out the right answer. Nowadays, especially when I'm traveling and there is a language difference, I still use this strategy: don't just ask one person and take their word for it. Ask a few people to confirm what you need to know.
3. It's not easy to live in another country. I have had several experiences living abroad after Ecuador, but each time I have kept this in mind. This understanding is also always present for me now when I work with immigrant students and their families here in the States. Although it is amazing, it is also SO DIFFICULT to navigate life in a totally different place. Maybe this is obvious, but it takes experiencing it to really appreciate it.
4. There are good people everywhere. I mean, really good people. My host family, who agreed to have a college student live in their house for four months (they got paid, but still... anyone out there want a teenager?); the family who welcomed us into their home for a night when we were traveling; the strangers in a random, indigenous community in the mountains who gave us a ride back to town when buss service had stopped for the day. It's incredible how people so easily reach out and connect.
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| Me, in Ecuador, where I did a semester of service learning in 1995 |
This summer, I am hosting a blog series called, Study Abroad, 20 Years Later. My friend Carolyn and I came up with this idea a couple months ago while walking on NYC's High Line. Carolyn, who studied abroad in Mexico during high school and London in college, suggested that, even now, in our 40's (gulp!), some of the lessons we learned studying abroad still influence our lives.
So, in this series, I will post other people's stories about their study abroad experiences, focusing on what they took away that still impacts them today. As a reader, you are welcome to contribute!
As for my own experience, my first official semester abroad was spring of my second year of college (1995), through International Partnership for Service Learning. This program still exists! My academic advisor, a Spanish professor, had told me to go to Spain, but I chose Guayaquil, Ecuador, because it was the most affordable program in a Spanish speaking country. I didn't regret it!
It was pretty much my dream program at the time: I lived with a host family, did volunteer work at a local agency three days a week, and took classes at a "gringo" satellite campus two days a week. On weekends, a friend in the program and I took advantage of the country's small size, traveling all over by bus, train, motorcycle, canoe... you name it. Both of us were determined to improve our Spanish, so we spoke ONLY Spanish, even when it was just us gringas. Thinking back, that was a pretty awesome commitment on our parts, considering we were what, 19 years old?!?!
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| With some of the great kids who attended the center where I volunteered. Wonder what they are doing today... |
Now that I teach college students and participate as a faculty advisor for global service learning, I continually ask myself what students are getting out of these experiences. What did I learn 20+ years ago in Ecuador that still impacts me today?
1. Spanish. I could already speak fairly fluently when I arrived, but thanks to my engagement with the kids at the center and my host family, and our "no English" rule, my language proficiency grew by leaps and bounds. There are things you cannot learn in a classroom.
2. How to get information (especially in Latin America). Of course, my experience in Ecuador was before the internet took off and certainly before smart phones. To get information (e.g., What time does the bus leave for Cuenca?), we had to do it the old fashioned way: ask. In many cultures (seemingly Ecuador), people are not eager to say they don't know! Often we had to ask several people to figure out the right answer. Nowadays, especially when I'm traveling and there is a language difference, I still use this strategy: don't just ask one person and take their word for it. Ask a few people to confirm what you need to know.
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| On the street in hot and hectic Guayaquil |
4. There are good people everywhere. I mean, really good people. My host family, who agreed to have a college student live in their house for four months (they got paid, but still... anyone out there want a teenager?); the family who welcomed us into their home for a night when we were traveling; the strangers in a random, indigenous community in the mountains who gave us a ride back to town when buss service had stopped for the day. It's incredible how people so easily reach out and connect.
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| Gringa me... Check out The Smiths t-shirt and a woven Ecuador bag (I still have that!). The kids used to go out and buy frozen, chocolate covered bananas for a few cents from a woman who sold them out of her window.
Like many things, study abroad is what you make of it. I had an amazing opportunity to participate in a semester of service learning in Ecuador, and did everything I could to make the most of it. The things I learned came with me to other experiences abroad, and continue to impact my life today.
Where did you study abroad, 20 or so years ago? What did you learn? Want to write about it? Leave a comment and I will be in touch!
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