Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Study abroad program connects Rutgers to the world
By Elyse Rosenberg
Daily Targum (Rutgers)
02/12/2007

(U-WIRE) NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — It may feel like a long trip on the REXL from Rutgers University's Livingston campus to the Douglass campus. But some Rutgers students are traveling a lot farther to get to class.

Associate Director of Rutgers Study Abroad Jenny Kawata said around 400 students study abroad each semester in 22 different countries.

Students can enroll in 40 programs, and attend host universities or stay at schools that Rutgers has set up, like its program in Florence, Italy.

Kawata said Italy, Australia and the United Kingdom are the most popular places students choose to study abroad, but more unique places like South Korea, South Africa, Japan and Costa Rica are also options.

"Each program has a different style that can meet the needs of all different types of students," she said.

Kawata studied abroad in Japan several years ago while an undergraduate and said it changed her outlook on life. "I got to see myself and America from the outside, and it gave me a better perspective of where I came from," she said.

Rutgers College senior Smriti Keshari stayed at an international host school in Sydney, Australia, during the fall of her junior year.

"I wanted to go to a place that was very global," she said. "In America and England, everything they teach is according to their country. Since Australia is such a new country, everything has a history to it that connects to other parts of the world."

Keshari said her classroom was as diverse as the country, including students from Germany, Norway, Denmark, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Canada and America. "It was neat seeing different people's input and perspectives in class," she said.

In Australia, she took international communication to help fulfill her communication major requirements. She also did an internship at a radio station through her host school.

Rutgers does not currently coordinate internships for students abroad, but it's in the works, Kawata said. "Obviously with the global society and workforce that employers are looking for, we'd like to offer that opportunity to our students," she said.

Keshari said she felt disappointed when she first arrived in Sydney, since a good amount of the students were American. "You get there and you see someone with a Rex Sox hat," she said. "But you want to be embedded with the Australian culture and people immediately."

She made sure to make friends with Australians and not just stick with Americans like many of her classmates did. "We went to rugby games, soccer games and barbeques," she said. "And I started developing a sense of national pride."

Keshari stayed a month after her session abroad ended and by then, started to pick up Australian terminology. "I started to say 'all over the shop,' which means you're all over the place," she said.

Although she said a lot of students experienced culture shock, having moved 13 times around the world throughout her life helped her get used to the country's way of life quickly.

Rutgers College senior Zoe Westhof spent her entire junior year in Valencia, Spain, because she wanted to study abroad and become fluent in Spanish.

"The Valencia program really appealed to me because you're fully integrated into the University of Valencia," Westhof said. "You live in a dorm with Spanish students, and it seemed like a great city."

The literature, translation, art history and film courses she took while abroad counted toward her comparative literature major and helped her complete a minor in Spanish.

Besides being an English tutor, Westhof said she made an effort to take advantage of being in a completely different culture.

"I became close with a lot of Spaniards," she said. "I did a lot of typically Spanish things. ... I got very used to the rhythm of Mediterranean life, the great food there, and of course went to some Flamenco shows."

But not all Spaniards know how to sing and dance flamenco, despite common belief, she said. "The wonderful part of living there is that you experience the true lifestyle, not the stereotypical idea of flamenco and bullfights that tends to be associated with Spain."

Although Westhof felt some culture shock when she went to Spain, she said "reverse culture shock" hit her harder when she returned home.

She said the biggest difference between New Jersey and Spain is "siesta" — an afternoon rest time when all the stores close in the middle of the day. Westhof said it's a time to go home and have a big lunch.

"There's a really great energy of just really enjoying life," she said.

Her favorite part of studying abroad was meeting people with whom she still keeps in touch, and traveling around Europe to Portugal, Italy, Morocco, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

"It's an incredible thing to be close to so many different and wonderful places," she said. Westhof said all Rutgers students should consider studying abroad.

"There is really no other time in your life when you can have this specific type of experience," she said. "Of course you can always travel, but studying as an undergrad allows you a certain kind of freedom and expanded perspective."

Kawata said studying abroad makes students more marketable, because they may be more adaptable to changes, and culturally sensitive and aware.

"While it's an adventure and a foreign excursion, it's an academic learning experience, and employers are looking for global employees who have characteristics of a study abroad student."

"You can sit in the classroom and study about France or Australia or European politics in a book, but if you're actually there and seeing, hearing and living it, there's much more of an impact on students," she said.

Kawata said the pros of studying in a different country outweigh the cons.

"There are varying degrees of culture shock, and students miss their friends and food from home," she said.

But when students study abroad, she said, they are not alone. "We have resident directors who assist students with academic, personal or any other issue they may have while overseas," Kawata said. "Sometimes this gives students a peace of mind."

Students have to apply to be able to study abroad. Requirements differ for each program, but it is necessary to be in good academic standing.

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