Studying Abroad:
Lessons Learned that Can be Applied to Your College Experience

My first authentic Spanish vocabulary lesson took place on my Chilean host family's couch, three days into my study abroad experience in Santiago. I had been struggling with my reading assignment, an article about the changing role of women in Chilean society, for two hours.

As I toiled over my homework my gentle, 60-year-old Chilean papa, Gonzalo, took a seat by my side. He noted that I was spending more time reading the dictionary than the article itself and offered to help me with some vocabulary. I pointed to several words and as Gonzalo explained them as simply as possible I began to move through the article more smoothly.

After discussing women in the work place and women in the home, the article ventured into reproductive rights and methods of birth control available to women in Chile. Gonzalo and I read together, paragraph by paragraph, until we arrived at the last method of birth control. When I pointed to the set of words he became tongue tied. He attempted to explain the words but I did not understand, forcing him to repeat his definition several times. Finally he became quite flustered and began to make quasi-obscene hand motions that indicated exactly which method of birth control he was struggling to explain.

Blood rushed to my cheeks as the awkwardness between us broke into an uneasy laughter; and thus began my adventure into the exciting and often uncomfortable world of cross-cultural living. Over the next four years I spent six months studying in Chile, another six months in Spain and nine months working at a newspaper in Caracas, Venezuela.

What surprised me about living abroad was the complex range of emotions that I experienced while away. I felt overwhelmed in a new environment and the smallest gut reactions became surprisingly magnified. With sub par Spanish speaking skills, my definition of a productive day changed dramatically. Completing a mundane task became a glorious triumph while trivial miscommunications became overwhelming frustrations. Ordering a cup of coffee at the corner deli felt like cracking the Rosetta Stone, while a botched conversation with a classmate felt like a colossal social blunder.

As in any new situation, flexibility and patience were essential to adapting to new surroundings. Language skills improved, intense reactions eased with time and new experiences gave way to quiet periods of self reflection. This is when the real learning could take hold — and it does not necessarily occur in the classroom.

Whether in the controlled environment of my study abroad program or my unstructured stay in Venezuela, reaching out to those around me, and knowing which resources were available greatly enhanced my experiences. The same can be said of a first year college student. Exploring the options around me - whether it was engaging a professor, calling a family friend or attending a university event — led to a more profound understanding of my environment.

Upon my arrival in Venezuela, I never turned down a dinner invitation or an offer to take an excursion. My Spanish had markedly improved, offering me the opportunity to participate in conversations instead of constantly decoding the language. I was quickly sucked into the exchange of ideas about globalization and social change. My ability to participate in these conversations profoundly changed my worldview and became an important part of my personal growth and evolution. This is a type of learning that extends beyond the walls of a university; these changes were part of a greater process of education that focuses on experiences and then reflection on those experiences.

Ah, the marvels and menaces of living under the umbrella of a foreign culture! It is to exchange the security of the familiar for the adventure of the unknown; it is to experience the joy that comes from unweaving the nuances of a foreign language and experiencing the frustrations that undoubtedly follow. But above all, studying or working abroad will expose you to an unforgettable learning experience.

An old saying (or was it a country song?) once said: you can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out the girl. Being from the South, I like to think of this line in my own context. All of us carry our past and our culture with us no matter where we go, but when we discover new places and cultures, we inevitably learn from them, and they become a part of our personal story and journey as well. We can only be better because of the challenges and knowledge we are exposed to, and we will certainly encounter many surprises along the way. 