For Students
Student Accounts About Study Abroad
NAFSA is collecting personal accounts from students about their education abroad experiences. Some students write in the first person. Other students are interviewed by their education abroad advisers, who then write in the third person. Consider your own story from various aspects—underrepresentation, short-term experiences, uncommon destinations, globalization, or working, interning, or volunteering abroad.
Submit a story about your education abroad experience to be considered for inclusion on the NAFSA Web site.
Some students write in the first person. Other students are interviewed by their education abroad advisers, who then write in the third person. Students are invited to provide stories and testimonials around a number of categories.
Underrepresentation in Education Abroad
My mother was such a traditional Mexican woman that it took me eight long years to get her used to the idea that I wanted to study in France. I was 12 years old when I started learning French at school and decided I wanted to move to Europe. “Si, si, lo que digas,” she’d laugh. Whatever you say.
By the time I had the resources to travel, she couldn’t very well tell me no. So instead, she tried to imagine what it would be like to stand in front of treasures she’d only read about. La Joconde. La Tour Eiffel. L’Arc du Triomphe.
In addition to learning how to whip up a fantastic vinaigrette, I also realized that going to a new country doesn’t mean you automatically learn about it. You have to work at what you’re going to absorb. Studying abroad proved to be not only what I had hoped for, but also not what I had expected at all. For instance, I was surprised at how much I learned about Africa through contact with Moroccans and Algerians.
My stay in Grenoble was unforgettable, and the curiosity that France created within me led me to Japan, where I lived for three years.
Japan was a whole different set of adjustments. I was considered Anglo simply because I was not Japanese … it was hard to get used to. In Japan, I became more comfortable with body image and less comfortable with greasy meals. It became evident that I was enamored with Asia—something I was not anticipating at all.
My mother learned to accept that I was a traveler, and that I loved her tremendously even if I want to live away from home. She and I understand that without my journeys abroad, I would be a very different person.
Michael Norman, a 2005 alumni of Northeastern University, spent a semester in San Jose, Costa Rica, at the International Center for Sustainable Human Development (CIDH). His experience was so profound, he returned for employment at the center. Michael credits his study abroad experience with helping him to solidify his personal identity and define his professional direction as well as political orientation. CIDH provided a very practical firsthand experience instead of the theory-only experience of the classroom. Professors at CIDH challenged theories and gave realistic feedback and instruction. As a rule of thumb, they encourage criticism, but with it must come analysis and suggestions for improvement or solutions.
To get more students to study abroad, Michael's experience was that his friends that were minorities tended to be concentrated in fields like engineering or health sciences, where the rigid curriculum offered little flexibility. Many used their electives before they knew about the study abroad options or before they began to appreciate the value in such an experience.
His semester abroad crystalized his future plans of getting a Master's degree to work in sustainable development. Before that, he had no idea or general direction of what he was going to do after graduation. Michael sums his feelings about study abroad in general by saying, "It allows you to step out of the box, outside of the U.S., to challenge concepts, beliefs, and values you grew up with. Immersion is the only thing that allows you intimate understanding of various topics. Being in another country allows you to appreciate that all differing Americans' ethnicities (Italians, Blacks, Asians, Hispanics) tend to exhibit a distinguished American culture first, and their differing cultures second." Also, learning a new language helped him gain appreciation for how cultures reflect language (like two words for love in Spanish and while there is only one in English, or how concepts of privacy, personal space, and time aren't as important in Latin America as they are in the United States. Michael describes himself as being slightly arrogant before studying abroad, but the experience showed him how there is not necessarily always a right and wrong, and that many times these concepts are culturally relative.
All in all, he valued the experience as the most influential part of his college career, both in terms of social and academic development. And his parents appreciate his new crystalized direction.
Uganda and Rwanda Peace and Conflict Studies, summer 2005
"Have you ever challenged yourself to an extent you never thought possible? I did just that on the SIT Uganda and Rwanda Peace and Conflict Studies summer abroad program. The six-weeks were filled with simultaneously amazing and heart-wrenching experiences, minute after minute, day after day."
Read more
Mongolia: Culture and Development, spring 2005
"The present tug-of-war occurring in Mongolia between modernization and tradition, that is, the influx of western influence with the concurrent revival of Mongolian culture, is arguably the most fascinating thing I could have studied. Not only earning the privilege to learn about another country from within, but being actually invited to witness its very evolution, is an experience for which I am infinitely grateful." Read more
Submit a story about your education abroad experience to be considered for inclusion on the NAFSA Web site.Some students write in the first person. Other students are interviewed by their education abroad advisers, who then write in the third person. Students are invited to provide stories and testimonials around a number of categories.
Student Diplomat Essay Competition
NAFSA: Association of International Educators and Abroad View hosted annual Student Diplomat Essay Competition, inviting students to submit compelling stories that articulate how their undergraduate international experiences have helped meet the United States' need to understand global situations and compete in the global arena. Read essays from the winner and runner-up of this new contest.- 2007 Winner: Identity's Shifting Sands by Hammad Hammad
- 2006 Winner: Conquering Fear, Embracing Differences by Kevin Adler
- 2006 Runner-up: Going Abroad to Find the Meaning of Home by Matthew Linden
Underrepresentation in Education Abroad
Violeta Garza, France and Japan
My mother was such a traditional Mexican woman that it took me eight long years to get her used to the idea that I wanted to study in France. I was 12 years old when I started learning French at school and decided I wanted to move to Europe. “Si, si, lo que digas,” she’d laugh. Whatever you say.By the time I had the resources to travel, she couldn’t very well tell me no. So instead, she tried to imagine what it would be like to stand in front of treasures she’d only read about. La Joconde. La Tour Eiffel. L’Arc du Triomphe.
In addition to learning how to whip up a fantastic vinaigrette, I also realized that going to a new country doesn’t mean you automatically learn about it. You have to work at what you’re going to absorb. Studying abroad proved to be not only what I had hoped for, but also not what I had expected at all. For instance, I was surprised at how much I learned about Africa through contact with Moroccans and Algerians.
My stay in Grenoble was unforgettable, and the curiosity that France created within me led me to Japan, where I lived for three years.
Japan was a whole different set of adjustments. I was considered Anglo simply because I was not Japanese … it was hard to get used to. In Japan, I became more comfortable with body image and less comfortable with greasy meals. It became evident that I was enamored with Asia—something I was not anticipating at all.
My mother learned to accept that I was a traveler, and that I loved her tremendously even if I want to live away from home. She and I understand that without my journeys abroad, I would be a very different person.
Michael Norman, Costa Rica
Michael Norman, a 2005 alumni of Northeastern University, spent a semester in San Jose, Costa Rica, at the International Center for Sustainable Human Development (CIDH). His experience was so profound, he returned for employment at the center. Michael credits his study abroad experience with helping him to solidify his personal identity and define his professional direction as well as political orientation. CIDH provided a very practical firsthand experience instead of the theory-only experience of the classroom. Professors at CIDH challenged theories and gave realistic feedback and instruction. As a rule of thumb, they encourage criticism, but with it must come analysis and suggestions for improvement or solutions.To get more students to study abroad, Michael's experience was that his friends that were minorities tended to be concentrated in fields like engineering or health sciences, where the rigid curriculum offered little flexibility. Many used their electives before they knew about the study abroad options or before they began to appreciate the value in such an experience.
His semester abroad crystalized his future plans of getting a Master's degree to work in sustainable development. Before that, he had no idea or general direction of what he was going to do after graduation. Michael sums his feelings about study abroad in general by saying, "It allows you to step out of the box, outside of the U.S., to challenge concepts, beliefs, and values you grew up with. Immersion is the only thing that allows you intimate understanding of various topics. Being in another country allows you to appreciate that all differing Americans' ethnicities (Italians, Blacks, Asians, Hispanics) tend to exhibit a distinguished American culture first, and their differing cultures second." Also, learning a new language helped him gain appreciation for how cultures reflect language (like two words for love in Spanish and while there is only one in English, or how concepts of privacy, personal space, and time aren't as important in Latin America as they are in the United States. Michael describes himself as being slightly arrogant before studying abroad, but the experience showed him how there is not necessarily always a right and wrong, and that many times these concepts are culturally relative.
All in all, he valued the experience as the most influential part of his college career, both in terms of social and academic development. And his parents appreciate his new crystalized direction.
Uncommon Destinations
Elizabeth Hensleigh
Uganda and Rwanda Peace and Conflict Studies, summer 2005 "Have you ever challenged yourself to an extent you never thought possible? I did just that on the SIT Uganda and Rwanda Peace and Conflict Studies summer abroad program. The six-weeks were filled with simultaneously amazing and heart-wrenching experiences, minute after minute, day after day."
Read more
Johanna Twersky
Mongolia: Culture and Development, spring 2005 "The present tug-of-war occurring in Mongolia between modernization and tradition, that is, the influx of western influence with the concurrent revival of Mongolian culture, is arguably the most fascinating thing I could have studied. Not only earning the privilege to learn about another country from within, but being actually invited to witness its very evolution, is an experience for which I am infinitely grateful." Read more
