Return and Reflect

A unique aspect of Susquehanna’s GO (Global Opportunities) program is the required reflection course after the cross-cultural experience. For my reflection course, I am taking Self Exploration through Travel Writing. During this class, every student writes a creative travel essay about their experience or an aspect of their experience.  The students in my course completed different programs. Many studied for a semester in London, but there are also people whose GO programs were in Costa Rica, South Africa, New York City, and Spain.

Last night, the draft of my travel writing essay was up for discussion. My essay attempted to explore the dangers and risk-taking that are involved with studying abroad and the ways in which the experience pushed me out of my comfort zone. I talked about traveling alone, a night out in Dublin, my experience at Northern Ireland’s biggest night club Kelly’s, the Halloween parade I attended in Derry-Londonderry, and the news that a car bomb had been found in a city I was planning on visiting the next day, among a few other things. Though I loved my study abroad experience, the essay focused in on some of those moments of anxiousness that came with it.

I do not consider myself a creative nonfiction writer and find it awkward to hear people talking about me and what happened in my life during a workshop, but it went better than I expected it had. The class and professor pushed me to convey more about how these experiences impacted me, especially my personal growth or development during my time abroad. Of course, to convey this I really have to think about it, which I'm not sure I’ve fully done before.

In some ways, my first intuition is to say that I didn’t change all that much, particularly in my attitude towards risk-taking, but I think that might be because I’m not giving the matter deep enough consideration. I need to set aside some time to think about the ways I’m different after that semester abroad and then explore those in the subsequent drafts.

I am also going to have to revisit some of the experiences I talked about more closely, since I mostly wrote in a reflective, summarization mode and people wanted to see it be more scene-like, with more dialogue. This is going to call for much more recall of detail than this initial draft did.

Despite how much work I have left to do on this essay, I think it has potential and I hope to submit it to next year’s Essay magazine. Essay is the on-campus literary magazine exclusively dedicated to creative nonfiction.  In addition to wanting a polished essay ready for submission by the end of the semester, I hope I can also have some answers to those questions about growth and change over my time abroad.

Seasons Ahead--Making Plans

Plans are coming together--both for this summer and next fall.

Over my Spring Break, I visited a possible internship site--the Historical Society of Dauphin County. I have an interest in a career in academic libraries or archives, and I really wanted to have an internship this summer that would help explore that interest. While there, I received a tour of the John Harris-Simon Cameron Mansion, a historical mansion in Harrisburg, and was able to look at the archives part of the society's office. I found out that I would be able to work with unprocessed manuscripts and scanning and writing descriptions for photos. I was definitely interested!

After coming back to school, I found out that this internship will be able to count towards the internship requirement for my Creative Writing major. Not only do I get to do something that's really interesting to me, but that's one less thing to worry about completing during the school year. I still have to fill out a form, though, and turn it into the Registrar, so I need to work on that.

Though I have been approved for study abroad by Susquehanna, I've also received my official acceptance to the University of Ulster-Coleraine campus in Northern Ireland for next fall. I have been able to get some things decided, like my course (module, as they say in the U.K.) and housing preferences. Over break, I also was able to apply for my passport. There's still a lot left to do to prepare for study abroad, though. Studying abroad seems to come with a never-ending supply of forms--just a warning to other students out there! For instance, I still need to get together my scholarship application for study abroad.     

Anyway, I'm looking forward to both of these things a lot. Though it's always a little bit stressful to get things planned, I feel confident that things are working out pretty well so far!

Preparing for a Semester Abroad

Last month, I was approved for studying abroad a semester in Northern Ireland at the University of Ulster.  Specifically, I’ll be spending my fall there. Though that was definitely exciting, it was only the beginning of a long process. Some of Susquehanna’s study-abroad, or GO (Global Opportunities), options are available directly from our university, such as SU in London: Regent’s College. Others, though, are through outside providers. The program I’m going to attend is through a provider called IFSA-Butler. Because of that, my application journey was not over once I had Susquehanna’s stamp of approval; I also have to apply directly to IFSA-Butler by March 1st.

On Monday, I attended a Q & A session about the application process and learned more about applying, as well as the other steps I have to take before I go abroad. Hearing about these details makes everything seem more real. 

One of the most important things I have to do is get approval for the courses I want to take while abroad. While I’m in Northern Ireland, I hope to take something that can count for one of my Central Curriculum requirements—my Artistic Intensive requirement. I also will probably be taking a course or two for my Creative Writing major. To make sure courses transfer, I need to get approval from department heads. For the Central Curriculum ones, I need approval from the registrar. There are a lot of great courses available at the University of Ulster-Coleraine, where I’ll hopefully attend, including tons of interesting literature courses. The hard thing is that, there, a full course load is only 3 classes. I’ll have to limit myself! Depending on the courses I take, I may be able to leave, after a semester, with a Certificate or Advanced Certificate in Irish Cultural Studies, which would be cool to have.

Another concern is my living situation when I come back to Susquehanna in the spring. Typically, students enter a housing lottery to get the room they want for the next year, but I can’t do that when I’ll be gone first semester. My basic options are to find someone who won’t be here in the spring and switch places with them or to let Residence Life find me somewhere to live. Something I have to consider is whether or not I want to have a single next year. I’d much rather have a single than room with someone I don’t know well or at all. Also, at that point, I will probably have lived in a single for 1.5 years (all of this year, sophomore year, and I think my semester abroad) so it might be a tough adjustment having a roommate again—especially if it’s not the ideal situation. However, singles are also more expensive.

I’m expecting that getting ready to go abroad will get a little stressful at times, but I am convinced it will be more than worth the hassle once I’m actually there!

Gathering More Study Abroad Information

Yesterday, after Hebrew Bible class, I went to an information session on study abroad. A representative from IFSA-Butler, an organization that has many study abroad programs, was visiting. It was a very small information session—only me and one other student, but that meant receiving a lot of personalized information about the program I was interested in at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. The University of Ulster has four different campuses, and I like the one in Coleraine. It has a strong English program so I should be able to find classes to meet my requirements here.

The representative was able to describe the campus so I have a better picture than my research had given me. He said the campus itself wasn’t the prettiest campus, but it was surrounded by a scenic area. Also, there are busses that take students into the nearby town. The college is also larger than Susquehanna, but I think I’m willing to take bigger class sizes for a semester in order to have my study abroad experience. The academic approach in Northern Ireland will be different as well. There is less week-to-week work; students are expected to be more independent, and much of your grade comes down to a long, final exam. There will definitely be an international population, but it won’t be a huge one, like in some other countries. The program comes with an orientation before the semester--I believe in Belfast, though my memory isn't 100% clear--as well as excursions. For students in Northern Ireland, he said there is usually a weekend in Dublin. He was also able to give me more information on how signing up for classes and applying work. Something else I like is that there will probably be a group flight to Northern Ireland leaving from JFK airport. This is a comfort to me because I’ve never flown before.

Right now, I definitely think this is what I want to do in terms of study abroad. The application process for studying abroad next school year opens up in November, so around then this blog will probably be filled with more updates as I go through paperwork, try to obtain a faculty recommendation, etc.  My main concern, at the moment, is just making sure things will check out financially.

Despite the fact that I’m in the very beginning of this process—practically before the beginning—the more I think about study abroad the more excited I become. In high school, this is an opportunity I hadn’t really considered taking, but now I’m very much attached to the idea.  

Study Abroad--Further Consideration

I spent a previous post considering my options for study abroad, but I’ve felt inclined to come back to the issue.  In one sense,this may be repetitive, but I think it also reflects reality.  It’s an issue that continues to come up in my thoughts and conversation among friends.

Previously, I considered Budapest or Prague, but new options seem to keep presenting themselves for more serious consideration.

For example, I hadn’t really considered the Netherlands, but now I’m looking at it as a very viable option, specifically Leiden.  The Netherlands seems like it would be a place of significantly different culture.   I would have to do some work on learning another language, Dutch.  The program I’m looking at has an intensive, two-week Dutch course upon arrival.  From the sounds of it, however, most people speak English. 

Language barriers have definitely been a consideration of mine.  Out of curiosity, as well hoping to stumble upon inspiration for my own blog, I’ve examined blogs of Susquehanna study away students.  These are linked to from the SU website.  While all the experiences seem positive, I’ll have to admit I was scared off some locations by hearing how overwhelming the language barriers are.  Taking that chance to leave Susquehanna for a whole semester will be overwhelming enough without struggling so much in my interactions.

Even with so many exciting options, there’s this nagging fear of going away for a semester.  It makes me wonder if I really should be looking at short programs more carefully.  I don’t want to miss what’s going on at SU!  Though I guess it’s not really missing as much as it is exchanging.  While I may not get a semester’s worth of Selinsgrove memories with my friends here, I will get a semester of memories elsewhere.

A semester of European memories.  A semester of memories in the Netherlands, perhaps. 

Where to GO? Looking at Study Abroad Options

A unique part of Susquehanna’s Central Curriculum is the Cross-Cultural Experience requirement, which is generally fulfilled through a semester or a few weeks abroad.  In Susquehanna lingo, these are called GO long programs and GO short programs.  GO stands for Global Opportunities.

I thought it might be interesting to record how I might be interested in fulfilling this requirement as a freshman and see if any of these are what I end up doing later on in my SU career.  Right now, I am leaning towards going away for a full semester, though shorter, service-oriented trips have also intrigued me.  One of the things I must keep in mind when choosing a location is affordability.  I should also consider that I might not have the chance—or quite such a convenient chance, at least—to travel in the future as I do now as a college student.   My older brother often cites not doing a semester abroad as one of his college regrets.  Right now, however, the thought of going away for a semester is frightening, especially when I’m still adjusting to life here. 

One program that’s listed as a “low-cost semester program” is in Budapest, Hungary.  I really would like to go someplace in Europe, and the idea of going somewhere in Central Europe, rather than more typical destinations like Paris or London, is intriguing.   What I also like about the possibility of studying abroad in Europe is that you can basically get to anywhere else in Europe once you’re there. 

However, when people ask me where I might want to go, my usual answer is Prague.  The city in the Czech Republic has somehow captured my imagination, though I need to do much more research on it.  I suppose it’s really a superficial fascination—I’m just struck by the beautiful pictures I’ve seen of it.  I also find the course options a bit more intriguing than those in Budapest; they include Script Analysis, Czech Short Stories, East European Cinema, and Contemporary Czech Culture: Alternative Literature, Music, and Lifestyles.  Still, it’s more expensive than Budapest and a bigger program. 

Then I start wondering if it’s a mistake to focus on Europe.  Places like Stellenbosch, South Africa are also plenty intriguing, as are schools in New Zealand. 

A different option altogether would be doing the Washington, D.C. Internship Semester.  It would be affordable and wouldn’t provide much of a culture shock, but it would still provide me with an experience of city living.  It would also provide internship experience.  I would classify it as one of my more practical options.   

Another issue with studying abroad is where I’d like to stay: in a homestay, apartment, or a dormitory.  I have heard homestays provide a more authentic experience, but I’d already be out of my comfort zone enough; immersing myself in a family of another culture might be too immersive.

All in all, there’s an awful lot to consider.  As someone who seems to relish opportunities to stress out, this requirement can be a source of worry.  When I actually get to have this cross cultural experience, though, I think I’ll have a much different perspective.