Students
rate study abroad as learning experience
Taking
advantage of the study abroad program, world
press students traveled over summer 2003
to Brazil, shown above.
By
Marilee Movius
On-line Forty-Niner
Imagine
going to the beach, lying in the hot sand,
drinking a beer and lounging with your top
off on the coast of Nerja, Spain. Cheryl
Bell, a liberal studies and Spanish major,
partook of this "liberating experience"
every weekend while studying abroad.
"I really got to feel like a European,"
Bell said. "This is something that
the average American student would not do."
Out
of the 34,728 students, 130 students are
currently studying abroad in one of the
17 countries that are available through
the 23 campuses in the Cal State University
system. This is only one percent of the
Cal State Long Beach student body, but many
more students have come into the Center
for International Education for Study Abroad
Services this semester.
"September
and October was a zoo," said Cecilia
Fidora, assistant director of the Center
for International Education for Study Abroad
Services. "We fill about 50 students
per day on the sign up sheet, who research
locations and pick up applications and most
of these students are returning to make
final plans."
Many
students have been visiting the center interested
in learning about the principles of travel
by studying abroad.
"I
am planning to go to Florence, Italy next
summer to learn a little of the language
and find places that locals go," said
Kristyn Young, a liberal studies student.
"Mostly, I would like to learn about
traveling in general and tips on how to
travel."
Other
students that have studied abroad have chosen
to do so for the reasons of learning about
another culture.
"I
wanted to emerse in the culture and jump
whole heartetdly into the Spanish language
and get that feeling of independence on
my own," Bell said. "I am very
glad I studied abroad because I feel like
a significant part of me has grown and I
have benefited from the independence, the
language and the overall experience."
Fidora
said that in most cases the choice to leave
the United States is linked to excitement
and a new energy.
"A
person can only do the same thing for so
long before it can get boring and that person
can get boring," Fidora said. "When
you go to any new place, it opens your mind
and you do grow learning about yourself,
sometimes I do not even recognize the person
when they come back because they change
so much and develop much more confidence."
In
the 1960s the study abroad program was created
by faculty that knew the value of being
in another culture and wanted to show this
to other students, Fidora said. Since then,
there are four different programs available.
The International Program is an academic
full year in 18 countries including Italy,
Australia and France. In order to qualify
for the program, a student must have an
upper division status and a GPA of 2.75-3.0.
The
second program is the Direct Exchange in
which a student will exchange with a student
from another country for one semester in
one of 14 countries, such as Japan or Switzerland.
A student must have 24 units completed prior
to the exchange and hold a 2.5-3.0 GPA.
The
third program offered is the London Semester
for sophomores, juniors and seniors with
a 2.5 minimum GPA. Students may participate
in this program in fall or spring and have
the option of an internship the second half
of the stay.
For
students that would like to stay in the
Long Beach area during the academic year,
the summer program in Florence, Italy is
available for eight weeks. Students must
have a 2.5 GPA in order to attend.
There
are also independent programs offered through
other schools for those students that would
like to go to a country not offered by the
state university system or take classes
for a major that is not offered here.
Programs
in other countries can be cheaper than taking
classes at Cal State Long Beach. For the
2004-05 year, it is estimated that the average
off campus, single student, who is living
away from parents will pay $14, 746 for
all school and living expenses. A student
could study abroad, however and pay as low
as $8, 497 in Taiwan or $9,222 in New Zealand,
for the same term and expenses, according
to the financing packet through the study
abroad program.
"I
paid $190 per month to live, but I had friends
that paid as low as $140 per month,"
Bell said. "A person can easily live
a moderate life on $400-500 per month because
food and housing is so unbelievably cheap
in Spain."
If a student qualifies for financial aid
at CSULB, this can be transferred overseas
and there are scholarships offered just
for study abroad programs, such as $1,500
scholarships for the Florence, Italy summer
session, Fidora said.
Many
times students abroad do not have to work
during the year because the cost is lower
than attending CSULB, but if a student wants
to travel on the weekends while away, there
are opportunities to work 20 hours per week,
Fidora said.
Many
programs offer trips that are included in
the tuition. In Spain, there are four trips
offered for the year, two each semester.
Trips through the study abroad program are
better than traveling alone outside of school
financially, Bell said.
"The
average student could not last more than
four to nine months traveling on his own
because their money will run out, but if
the person goes through school, the funds
will be subsidized and it will act as the
springboard to get there," Fidora said.
Traveling
through the study abroad program has also
brought students a better experience than
backpacking through different countries.
"When
you can put your camera down and go to the
grocery store, it is at that very moment
that instantly you are from there, which
is a total different experience than if
you are backpacking," Bell said. "Just
pointing an English speaking tourist to
your favorite bar or knowing the entire
bus route became the new me."
It
may be more beneficial to study abroad for
a year rather than just a semester, because
after just one semester, a person will get
settled and then it is time to leave again.
A full year student has seen the different
seasons and can identify with news topics
about that society better, Fidora said.
"It
snowed after 12 years in Granada and if
I went home after the fall semester, than
I would have missed that," Bell said.
"It was so cold that the walls and
tiling of my dorm room never heated up from
the central heater and it felt like I was
outside on my terrace that overlooked the
Sierra."
The
learning experience could also be altered
as well. A student in a foreign language
country will learn the language the first
semester and then second semester, the student
will be transferred to the university where
students of that country attend. Most of
the countries that are offered by the study
abroad program are private and prestigious
universities as well.
Other
students study abroad solely for the experience
because many majors are not offered overseas.
"I
am going for the traveling experience and
not necessarily for the classes and that
is why I decided to go in the summer because
it is hard to find liberal studies abroad,"
Young said.
Fidora
recommends studying abroad in Sweden because
communications is a strong major at CSULB
and English is spoken there.
In
order to travel to one of these countries,
it all starts with the planning.
"I
have been visiting this office (study abroad
services) for the last two years, going
through the online programs and stacks of
travel information and it has been hard
to map out the trip, but the study abroad
services is wonderful because there's so
many resources here and I definitely recommend
coming," Young said.
Though
the planning process can take some time,
students find that studying abroad does
pay off.
"If
you have the desire to travel, waiting is
not an option," Bell said. "Right
now you can get credit for it and when you
look back at the pictures over the years
and put a notch on your belt, it will make
you smile that you actually did it. Don't
rely on my experiences to learn about it."
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