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Study Abroad-Game Changer, Life Changer
By Dave Goldberg, Guidance Counselor
In the summer of 1984 I need one unit to complete my bachelor's degree in Journalism from The University of Arizona. Some of you may remember my ancillary photojournalism article from last year, Too Cool for School where, in college, I mailed it in, wore early 1980's Wayfarer's in class and sat in the back of the class next a very bright UofA Football player...and took my only D in college.
So, I capped off my college career in excellent Professor Bill Greer's Photojournalism class in Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico-Rocky Point! About 10 students traipsed off to Mexico in a UofA van, cameras in hand and we were going to document life where the desert meets the sea. (Yetman, D.A. 1988. Where the desert meets the sea: a trader in the land of the Seri Indians. Tucson: Pepper Press)
Greer had us taking time-lapsed pictures of fireworks bursting in the sky over the beach. We took pictures of sunsets until we were correctly told that if you've seen one sunset photo, you've seen them all. We took a trip to Sandy Beach and waded out about ½ mile from shore on one of the world's longest tidal planes. I took a picture of a silvery fish head there, spiky teeth and dead eye staring up at me. We took thousands of pictures and some were indeed stunning.
We went to CEDO and checked out the UofA science people doing sea-based research on assorted sea life. One surly research chap was doing research on halophytes. He was trying to develop harvestable crops for human consumption. Much of the research looked like tanned UofA grad students staring into microscopes and jotting down notes and then stretching and yawning. As with any good journalist, Greer was skeptical of the legitimacy of their efforts. Sometimes science looks like students frolicking on the beach. And, to my knowledge we're still not eating halophyte salads.
College students become child-
like doing Study Abroad research
My classmates enjoyed the Photojournalism experience abroad. We met cartel pirates at La Pitaya, nearly blew off the nose of the son of Arizona Highways' publisher, Hugh Harelson, with a giant bottle rocket and took advantage of the kindness of poker-playing strangers in Las Conchas. The UofA ceased the Rocky Point excursion the following year, something about the van having sand and bottle caps on the floorboard. Greer also taught us that the faster one drives over washboard roads the better. He told us it was like hydroplaning on sand, which he told us was a good thing, something about harmonics.
On a serious note, Mr. Todd Slaney has a pal in San Diego who works as a structural engineer. One of Ian's jobs is to determine the structural soundness of buildings in earthquake-ravaged areas. As such his firm sent him to Haiti after their massive 7.0 quake in 2010. I was riveted to my chair listening to Ian's stories and how he was really moved by how the 6-month experience abroad changed his perceptions about want, need, famine, filth, political filth and cultural folkways. And the reformation of his perceptions didn't stop once he returned to San Diego. Ian shared that when he came back and would order a hamburger, he would marvel at the size of the burger and wonder how many people one burger could really feed.
When in Haiti, Ian lost 20 lbs from being overwhelmed by the human spectacle of need all around him. He couldn't eat. How could he? Instead, he would give away his company-provided food at every chance. This guy is a pretty tough nut but he remains humbled by his experience in Haiti. While not a pure Study Abroad experience, Ian's experience highlights the mind-bending nature of stretching one's self through cultural immersion.
I recently attended my board meeting with the UofA's Honors College and Dr. MacCorquodale and Ms. Sara Dorer. They presented some of the new credit-bearing travel initiatives the Honors College is offering. Among them is an array of summer options including an archeological and cultural trip to the Aegean, a trek through Paris and a south-to-north adventure through Namibia. That one sounds neat because students sleep on the giant globe trekker van as it unfolds into elevated sleeping quarters. The two faculty sponsors conduct a give-and-take throughout the trip because one is a flora specialist and wants to see all the plant life and the other is a fauna guy and he wants to stalk stuff.
ASU and their honors college offer their share of Study Abroad options as does NAU and most colleges and universities for both honors and non-honors students. These are mind-blowing experiences, usually reserved for upper-classmen, and they fuel the imagination and look good on a resume. One need not speak the language(s) of that nation but it helps. You can always find a use for Urdu back in the States.
Upon return to the States, some students suffer from PSAD-Post Study Abroad Depression, a first-world problem if there ever was one, but real nonetheless (Ayyar, K., January 25, 2012, NYU Local, PSAD: post study abroad depression). The opportunities for cross-cultural pollination are great. Because classroom-to-field experiences are the nature of practical education, look into study abroad. Embrace it for a summer and get a vision of how the big blue marble operates.
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