The best year of my life was the one during college that I spent studying abroad in Spain. (No, not only because of the sexy Spanish men and the all-night street fiestas.) My time in Spain fundamentally changed me. From buying groceries to booking a train ticket, every moment was a challenge. Twelve months later I came home fluent in a new language and confident that I could be dropped off in any country in the world and be just fine.
Doin’ it For Your Country
Michelle Obama recently spoke out about how critical it is for American college students to study abroad. She said, “The fact is, with every friendship you make, and every bond of trust you establish, you are shaping the image of America projected to the rest of the world. That is so important. So when you study abroad, you’re actually helping to make America stronger.”
She encouraged students to step out of their comfort zones and see how their perceptions of the world change. Mrs. Obama added, “That’s how, student by student, we develop that habit of cooperation, by immersing yourself in someone else’s culture, by sharing your stories and letting them share theirs, by taking the time to get past the stereotypes and misperceptions that too often divide us.” The First Lady also made it clear that it’s the duty of the White House to not only encourage students to study abroad, but to make it financially possible.
The Stats
The Institute for the International Education of Students has surveyed 14,800 students over a period of 50 years about their experiences studying abroad. The findings show that it was a positive experience:
- 98 percent said that their experience helped them to better comprehend their own cultural values and biases.
- 76 percent reported that they acquired skills that guided their career decisions.
- 95 percent stated that it forever changed their worldview.
The Real Deal
Charissa Jones spent the second semester of her junior year studying in Sienna, Italy. Her time in Italy changed her view of the world and gave her a deep appreciation for different cultures. Jones said, “I’d say the best aspect of studying abroad was being so completely out of my comfort zone. It was strange the peace I felt even when I first arrived and hadn’t made friends and didn’t know the streets or the language. There is nothing like the exhilaration of seeing yourself adapt to a completely new environment.”
Jones was won over by the way her host family treated her like one of their own children, opened their home and fed her delicious Italian food non-stop. ”I gained 10 pounds easily, even with walking over 40 minutes a day. To be honest, it was the best 10 pounds I’ve ever gained.” Jones credits her time in Italy as the motivating factor for her six-month move to volunteer in Kenya years later.
Sonia Shukla also spent a portion of her time in college studying in Europe. Almost a decade later she reflected on her experience by saying, “I feel like studying abroad created a chapter that I can now refer back to, and that alone strengthens my credentials simply because of the inference that comes with traveling internationally.”
“Studying abroad and spending a significant amount of time in a foreign country gives you a certain authority that no one can match by merely studying or reading about a country or culture, but only by physically living and spending time there. It’s in that idle, mundane time, when you’re just ‘living’ there, when you learn the most.”
Photo 1 by Whitehouse.gov via Wikimedia Commons, photo 2 by Ben Demey via Flickr.