The Princeton Experience, A-Bridged

“I try to say ‘Molim’ in order to let them know that I missed what they said and to have them repeat it, but they, upon realizing the limits of my language knowledge, just say never mind to the subject and move on,” Vinson said in an e-mail. “The Serbian language is definitely a difficult one.”

New languages are not the only challenges facing Vinson and the 19 other members of Princeton’s inaugural Bridge Year Program, which has also sent students to Ghana, India and Peru. The program, first announced in February 2008, allows admitted students to take a gap year devoted to service abroad prior to coming to Princeton. In September 2008, President Tilghman said the program may eventually include up to 100 incoming freshmen every year. She added that the pilot program will cost between $20,000 and $25,000 per student.

Prior to the progam’s creation, “the tremendous impact that spending some time outside of the United States has on Princeton students ... [is] something that was really only affecting [their] senior year,” President Tilghman told The Daily Princetonian last year.

These 20 students — chosen from 54 applicants — will begin their college careers next fall already familiar with new settings, homesickness and a more global perspective.

“I have … been struggling with feeling that I’m not a part of the lives of my family back at home,” Vinson said. “That is something that I [am] struggling with every single day and that I feel is a huge factor that is holding me back from being fully present here.”

Still, Vinson said she was “excited” about her work for Vivisect, an organization that sponsors an annual film festival and photo exhibitions to raise human rights awareness.

“Here in Serbia, the month of September is not that busy for NGOs [non-governmental organizations]. Therefore, I had a difficult time feeling the urge to actually do something,” Vinson explained. “Now I am getting excited about my service assignments.”

The students’ journey abroad began in Princeton in early September. As part of a five-day team-building orientation program, the students met with President Tilghman to prepare for the transition to life abroad. Tilghman reflected on the Bridge Year Program’s conception and her time working as a chemistry teacher in Sierra Leone.

But no orientation program could teach them everything they needed to know, said program participant Kathleen Ryan ’14, who is living in Accra, Ghana. “Before we left, Princeton tried to prepare us, but it’s impossible to prepare for things and ways of thinking you did not know existed. You can’t know Ghana without living in Ghana,” she said in an e-mail.

“Almost every task is a challenge,” she said of her experience in Accra. “But a good one.”

Three weeks into their stay in Accra, Ryan said she and her four classmates have been busy performing community service and studying Twi, the most common dialect of the Akan language group, which is widely spoken in Ghana. Ryan is also working at the country’s only autism center, one of several NGOs benefiting from the students’ work.

Ryan said that living in Ghana presents challenges, including trying to understand the society’s values.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

“Ghanaians have a different set of core beliefs than Americans. This leads to a different set of values. Different values lead to different behaviors. As such, a lot of things in Ghana are just different,” Ryan explained.

Even activities such as washing her hair and traveling to work have become challenges in adapting to a different lifestyle, Ryan said. Communicating effectively, not to mention making friends, has been even more difficult, she added.

Vinson has also found the first few weeks of life abroad to be especially challenging. “I have had a very difficult time transitioning to life here in Serbia,” she said in an e-mail. “I am glad to be able to go home and tell everyone that Serbia is nothing the media has portrayed it to be.”

Nonetheless, Ryan said she remains excited by the opportunities presented by the program.

“Every challenge is fun and meaningful because I am always learning something new,” she said.

Alex Rafter ’14, who is also living in Novi Sad, said the language barrier presents a major challenge when living abroad. “I’ve definitely encountered challenges while I’ve been here, the biggest being not knowing the language,” he explained. “We’re learning as we are living here, which on the one hand is exciting and make the learning really fast, but still can make life tougher on a day-to-day basis.”

There is no language requirement for entry into the program, but all students live with a local host family during their stay as they volunteer and study a local language.

The Princeton students in Serbia initially lived in a hostel as they became familiar with the city. Since then, they have been volunteering with local NGOs and studying Serbian four mornings every week. Rafter and Vinson will stay in Novi Sad with three other classmates until January, when they will move to a different city within Serbia.

“Right now I am struggling with the fact that we will only be here in Novi Sad for a mere 3 more months, and I feel very pressed for time,” Vinson said. “How can I make a change in 3 months? Will the work I do now be inadequate? Is 9 months, total, enough time to really dedicate myself to a cause or a service assignment and really make it worthwhile? I sure hope so.”

Overall, though, Rafter said living in Novi Sad has been an enlightening experience. “Every day is truly a learning experience … My time here has definitely made me look at life in the U.S. differently, and made me a more flexible and easygoing person,” he said.

Ryan also praised the program, saying, “My experience has been incredibly positive. I have loved all the new experiences and opportunities in Serbia, and getting accustomed with a new way of life and people with new perspectives.”

Ryan noted that living abroad has also given her a new perspective on life in the United States. “Americans are private. We are ‘island’ people. Ghanaians are not,” she explained.

To plan the Bridge Year Program, the University partnered with organizations that coordinate service and study abroad efforts. These programs have a representative stationed in each region where Bridge Year Program participants are living, and those representatives provide assistance to students and meet with them each week.