Semesters abroad bring new perspectives

Dune-jumping in South Africa's Red Desert, hillwalking in the Scottish Highlands or visiting ancient ruins in Jordan don't sound like typical spring break activities. However, undergraduates who studied abroad last spring took advantage of these opportunities while learning about foreign cultures and gaining new perspectives on their lives at the University.

Nancy Kanach, associate dean of the college for study abroad, said approximately 14 percent of each undergraduate class currently studies abroad for a semester or for a year.

This figure represents a significant increase from 10 years ago, when less than six percent of each undergraduate class chose to study abroad, Kanach said in an email.

Several seniors who studied abroad last spring said their experiences outside the small world of the University were valuable in many ways and said they hoped that greater numbers of University students would study abroad in the future.

Doug Rosenthal '04 was one of 18 University students who spent the spring semester at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Eleven of those undergraduates were Wilson School majors who were participating in junior task forces there.

Rosenthal said that with so many University students in Cape Town he felt comfortable throughout most of his time abroad.

"I never really felt like I was on my own," he said.

Rosenthal took several trips during the semester with other students. Eight or nine University students drove to Namibia for spring break, went dune-jumping in the Red Desert, and went dune-biking in Swakopmund.

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"The boys went deep-sea fishing, and the girls went on a dolphin cruise" during the trip, said Anne White '05, who also spent the semester in South Africa.

While abroad, Rosenthal found time to learn to play guitar, to surf and to bungee jump. "I had time to do all the things I don't have time to do on campus," he said.

Students volunteered for several hours each week at townships near the university, White said. She taught health classes to teenage mothers.

Seeing widespread poverty in South Africa and the small neighboring nation of Lesotho gave Rosenthal a new perspective on his own life. "I have a lot of appreciation for the opportunity I have," he said.

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Rosenthal said that in some ways he wishes he had been less comfortable during his semester abroad because he "would have learned more."

By the Nile

Luke Yarbrough '04 faced a more difficult transition during his spring semester at the American University in Cairo, which was his only option to receive credit for studying abroad in an Arabic-speaking environment during the academic year.

Yarbrough was the only University student in Egypt last spring.

Although most classes at the American University are conducted in English, more than 80 percent of the students are Egyptian, Yarbrough said. He said "there was a definite cultural divide," but added that he is still in contact with some Egyptian friends whom he met while in Cairo.

"I gained a lot of courage to speak to people who I don't know and who put me out of my comfort zone," Yarbrough said.

The American University is located "right in the heart of downtown Cairo," but during the semester Yarbrough traveled outside the city to the ancient ruins at Petra in Jordan and to Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.

Heading for the highlands

Courtney Scala '04, one of seven University students who spent the spring semester at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, said she valued the opportunity to study in a historic environment.

"Every day that I walked to class I walked by the oldest golf course in the world," she said.

Scala took the normal course load at the university, which consisted of two seminars. Each of the courses met once each week, so she had a five-day weekend. Professors at St. Andrews expected students to work extensively outside of class and "there was not as much hand-holding as you get in the U.S.," Scala said.

Many students at St. Andrews study all day and then go to one of many pubs at night. "It was a great, laid-back atmosphere," she said.

Like Rosenthal and Yarbrough, Scala had the opportunity to travel several times during the semester. She went with a group of students to London and the Isle of Skye and also hiked for six days on the West Highland Way during the university's reading week.

Scala said her experience in Scotland helped convince her to apply for the Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship, which she recently learned she won. She will use this scholarship for a year of postgraduate study in public policy, possibly in Australia or New Zealand, she said.

A common concern among undergraduates is that studying abroad junior year will interfere with their independent work.

However, Yarbrough demonstrated that it is possible to complete outstanding independent work while abroad. He learned last week that he had won the Carter Kim Combe '74 Prize for the best second semester junior research paper in the history department.

Scala, a sociology major, said that she corresponded with her independent work adviser by phone and by email and that she had no trouble coordinating with him.

"I don't think that [independent work] should be something that holds people back from studying abroad," she said.