Study Abroad
From UMassWiki
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Welcome to the Com352 Group Dynamics Study Abroad page |
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Here are some stories about studying abroad from members of our class! by Emma Lovewell and Anthony Poulos To get more information on studying abroad as a UMass student, visit the International Programs Office website: http://www.umass.edu/ipo/
In the spring of my sophomore year in ’06 I spent a semester studying in Beijing, China. I absolutely loved it. I even tell people that my most memorable time at Umass was when I left to study in China. I studied Chinese for a year and a half at Umass before I traveled to China. I thought I knew enough Chinese to survive. I was barely right about that. At first I was lost and almost completely unable to communicate. However, while I was there I took Chinese language classes every day at Beijing Foreign Studies University. I was forced to use everything I had learned in the past plus everything I was learning each day in class, in real life situations. I could tell a taxi driver where I wanted to go. I could order many different dishes at a restaurant. (Though it took me awhile to fully understand what I was actually eating.) One of my favorite parts of my experience in China was learning about the many different cultures from all the international students at my university. I did learn a great deal about Chinese culture, because I was surrounded by it, and I loved it. But one thing that I did not expect was to meet so many interesting people from all over the world. My close friends were from Australia, Scotland, Poland, Japan, Italy, Puerto Rico, and Equatorial New Guinea. We were all from completely different places but were all in Beijing for the same reason: to learn the Chinese language and culture, and to have a great time. Many of my friends did not speak English very well, or at all, so we mostly spoke Chinese. I can clearly remember one night my Italian friend invited us all over to her apartment and she taught us how to make homemade gnocchi. We all helped and throughout the night we all spoke in Chinese. We talked about our boyfriends and family, and just every day things that I never had the chance to talk about in Chinese. I admit I had a fairly hard time understanding what was going on for some of the conversation, but I also remember being incredibly proud of myself for understanding all that I did. Communicating with the use of Chinese, some English that my English-speaking friends would throw in, and the use of body language I had one of the most memorable dinners of my life.
After my semester in China I did some traveling. I traveled to Hong Kong. They speak much more English there than they do in Beijing. I also went to Xi’an where the Terracotta warriors are. I went to Hainan, a tropical island in southern china. I also traveled to Thailand. The beaches were beautiful and the people were incredibly friendly. I came to the conclusion that everyone was happy there all the time because it was so beautiful. I saw the beach where the film, The Beach, was filmed. Beautiful! This past January ’08 I traveled to Bali, Indonesia for 4 weeks. I went with my brother for a surfing trip. The entire plane ride there my brother and I were studying Indonesian so we would be able to get around a little bit. He already knew a good amount of Indonesian because his girlfriend is from Jakarta. But I was doing my best to catch up. Bali was beautiful. Gorgeous beaches, towering volcanoes, mountainous rice paddies, it was like a dream. The culture is so strong there so I was able to witness and learn a lot by observing. Once again I was forced to try and communicate with other people from different cultures speaking different languages. I love the challenge, and am so proud of myself when I succeed!
My study abroad was a little different because I did it during the summer. I took six credits in Rome, Italy from May-June at the American University of Rome. When I first got there I didn’t know much Italian and I met my three roomates who were from different parts of the US; Hawaii, Georgia, and California. Fortunately all of us got along really well from the start. We took classes during the week from Monday to Thursday and used the rest of our time seeing Rome and traveling across Italy. We saw sites in Rome like the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and the Vatican. As the month went on we all began learning bits of Italian and were able to communicate a little better. My advice to anyone going abroad would be to learn the language as well as you can before getting there, one of my biggest regrets was not being able to communicate as well as I wanted to. Barely anyone in Rome spoke English.
During our weekends we traveled across Italy. We went to places like Florence, Sorrento, and the Island of Capri. Traveling was among my favorite things to do in Italy. The places we went all had uniques things about them. This first picture is on the Island of Capri and the second picture is on top of the Duomo that we walked over 400 steps to get to the top. I would recommend studying abroad and it was one of the best things I’ve done since being at Umass.
Gina traveled to Ireland in the fall of 2007, here is her story! I traveled to the University College Cork in Cork Ireland for Fall semester 07. I can honestly say that it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I didn't go with a program, so I went to Cork without knowing a single person. But I have to say that I met so many amazing people, many that I consider best friends. We are so close that we are all getting together for a reunion in early June. Since Ireland is such a small country, I was able to see almost all of it, well, wherever Bus Eirann would take me. I definitely wasn't confident enough to drive on the opposite side of the road. The countryside of Ireland was absolutely gorgeous, and believe it or not their coastline was gorgeous! The two most gorgeous places that I have ever seen in my life were on the coastline of Ireland. One of the places was called Mizen Head, which is the most southwestern point of Ireland. The other was called the Cliffs of Moher, which was located up by Galway on the West Coast. you could walk along the Cliffs which were 700 feet in the air. Me and my friends walked along them for over an hour. It seemed like they never ended. But honestly one of the best parts of Ireland was the pub scene. It isn't like it is in America. You walk into a pub and sit there and talk to your friends for hours. Not to mention you find yourself striking up conversations with locals about almost anything. The people there were so amazing! After moving, living, and traveling throughout Europe for 4 months, I now realize I can do almost anything!
Mizen Head. The closest point to Boston.
The cliffs of Moher, Galway
Gina and her friends at Blarney Castle, after kissing the infamous Blarney stone.
Steph Kent Steph has given us some links to her travels abroad. "I'm giving you the Last link in a series of posts about Israel and Palestine:" http://www.reflexivity.us/blog/archives/2007/11/spots-of-light.html
http://www.reflexivity.us/blog/archives/2006/08/symbolic-end-of-1.html "Here's a general link to travel in Palestine: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10563557783 and a more specific one..." http://www.palestinesummer.org/book/export/html/11 "I really hope to get a group organized to go to Palestine during the 2009-2010 school year (yes, in two years - unless someone gets motivated to get this going while I'm out of the country next year)."
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